THE   HISTORY   AND   PROBLEMS 
OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 


THE 

HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS 
OF  ORGANIZED   LABOR 


BY 
FRANK   TRACY    CARLTON,   PH.D. 

PROFESSOR   OF   ECONOMICS   AND   HISTORY 
IN   ALBION   COLLEGE 


D.   C.   HEATH   &   COMPANY 

BOSTON  NEW  YORK  CHICAGO 


COPYRIGHT,  1911, 
BY  D.  C.   HEATH  &  Co. 


PREFACE 

THE  aim  of  this  volume  is  to  present  briefly  the  important 
facts  in  the  history  of  organized  labor  in  the  United  States, 
/to  analyze  the  chief  problems  which  directly  or  indirectly 
\affect  the  labor  organizations  of  the  present  decade,  and  to 
/evaluate  the  functions  of  organized  labor  in  the  industrial 
(  and  political  world.  The  history  of  American  labor  organiza- 
tions presents  to  the  observer  a  rapidly  changing  and  almost 
bewildering  picture  of  which  few  careful  studies  have  been 
made.  The  government,  ideals,  practices,  solidarity,  and 
inter-relationships  of  such  organizations  have  experienced, 
and  are  at  present  undergoing,  a  variety  of  transformations. 
It  is  the  purpose  of  the  writer  to  present  to  the  student  of 
industrial  problems  and  to  the  general  reader  a  straight- 
forward study  of  the  forces  which  have  caused  labor  organiza- 
tions to  appear  and  to  assume  a  variety  of  forms.  The  aim 
is  not  to  justify  or  to  condemn  the  practices  and  ideals  of 
organized  labor  or  of  employers'  associations,  but  to  analyze 
the  phenomena  of  which  the  practices  and  ideals  are  the 
visible  manifestations.  Labor  organizations,  employers'  asso- 
ciations, strikes,  boycotts,  the  demand  for  the  closed  shop, 
the  sweating  system,  and  the  ideals  and  point  of  view  of 
organized  labor  or  of  organized  capital  are  evolved  through 
the  play  of  social  forces  working  within  the  economic  field. 
The  modern  labor  problem  cannot  be  understood,  and  cer- 
tainly cannot  be  solved,  until  the  underlying  causative  forces, 
new  and  old,  physical  and  social,  are  laid  bare. 


vi  PREFACE 

References  are  placed  at  the  end  of  each  chapter  to  assist 
the  student  in  the  selection  of  material  for  collateral  reading. 

The  writer  wishes  to  acknowledge  his  indebtedness  to  his 
wife  for  her  unfailing  sympathy  and  aid  in  the  preparation 
of  this  book. 

FRANK  T.  CARLTON. 

ALBION,  MICHIGAN,  May,  1911. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.    THE  SIGNIFICANCE  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR i 

II.    LABOR  IN  THE  COLONIAL  AND  REVOLUTIONARY  PERIOD     .  u 

III.  THE  PRE-CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD 21 

The  Development  of  the  Factory  System 21 

The  Rise  of  Industrial  Cities 27 

Labor  Organizations 30 

Labor  and  Humanitarianism 41 

The  Free  School  System  and  the  Wage  Earners     ....  46 

Land  Reform  and  the  Wage  Earners 48 

IV.  THE  CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD,  1857-1872 51 

Industrial  Progress  during  the  War 52 

Industrial  Consolidation 54 

Wages  and  Prices 55 

Labor  during  the  Civil  War  Period 56 

The  Knights  of  St.  Crispin 64 

V.    THE  PERIOD  OF  NATIONAL  ORGANIZATION 68 

Recent  Industrial  Progress 68 

Organizations  of  Labor 70 

The  Knights  of  Labor 71 

The  American  Federation  of  Labor 74 

The  Industrial  Workers  of  the  World 82 

Women's  Trade  Unions 84 

Employers'  Associations 85 

VI.    GOVERNMENT  AND  POLICIES  OF  LABOR  ORGANIZATIONS      .     .  95 

Classification  of  Labor  Organizations 95 

Government  and  Structure          97 

Admission  to  Membership no 

Disputes  between  Unions in 

The  Introduction  of  Machinery 113 

Collective  Bargaining 116 

vii 


viii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

The  Closed  Shop  Policy 122 

Restriction  of  Output 128 

Hours  of  Labor 137 

Limitation  of  Apprentices 143 

Incorporation  of  Labor  Organizations     ......      .150 

Benefit  Features 151 

VII.     COERCIVE  METHODS  ....           157 

Strikes  and  Lockouts 157 

Causes  of  Strikes 159 

Violence  connected  with  Strikes  and  Lockouts       .      .      .      .  161 

Losses  due  to    Strikes  and  Lockouts 164 

New  Aspects  of  Strikes 165 

The  Boycott 167 

The  Attitude  of  the  Courts  Toward  Strikes  and  Boycotts      .  169 

The  Blacklist 180 

The  Union  Label 182 

Typical  Strikes 184 

VIII.    INDUSTRIAL  REMUNERATION 190 

What  is  a  Fair  Wage? 190 

Methods  of  Remuneration 193 

Time  Wage 194 

Task  Wage 196 

Piece  Wage     . 196 

Progressive  Wage  or  the  Premium  Plan 197 

The  Sliding  Scale 201 

Profit  Sharing 201 

Product  Sharing 202 

Methods 203 

Advantages  of  Profit  Sharing 204 

Objections  to  the  System 205 

Conclusion 208 

Welfare  Work 209 

Cooperation 210 

Consumers'  Cooperation  in  England 211 

Consumers'  Cooperation  in  the  United  States    .      .      .      .  213 

Two  European  Experiments 216 

Distributors'  Cooperation 217 

Credit  Cooperation 218 

Building  and  Loan  Associations 219 

Producers'  Cooperation 220 

Conclusion                  224 


CONTENTS  ix 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

IX.    METHODS  OF  PROMOTING  INDUSTRIAL  PEACE 228 

Definitions 232 

Conciliation  and  Arbitration  in  the  United^tates.      .      .      .  233 

The  Anthracite  Coal  Strike  Commission 237 

The  National   Civic   Federation 239 

Advantages  and  Defects  of  Arbitration  and  Conciliation      .  242 

Trade  Agreements 243 

Trade  Agreements  in  the  New  York  Building  Trades       .      .  245 

Trade  Agreements  in  the  Coal  Mining  Industry     ....  245 

Trade  Agreements  in  the  Stove  Industry 246 

Joint  Conferences  as  Parliamentary  Bodies 249 

The  Canadian  Industrial  Disputes  Act 250 

The  Experience  of  New  Zealand  and  Australia      ....  253 

X.    PROTECTIVE  LEGISLATION  FOR  EMPLOYEES 263 

Constitutional  Difficulties  in  the  United  States      ....  263 

What  is  Liberty? 267 

Trend  of  Court  Decisions 269 

History  of  Labor  Legislation 274 

The  Chief  Forms  of  Labor  Legislation 278 

Present  Status  of  Labor  Legislation 279 

Employers'  Liability 292 

Workingmen's  Compensation  Acts 300 

Compulsory  Insurance  against  Sickness  and  Old  Age  Pensions  310 

The  Massachusetts  Old  Age  Annuity  System 316 

The  Industrial  Insurance  and  Pension  Systems  of  the  Inter- 
national Harvester  Company 316 

Pension  System  of  the  International  Typographical  Union   .  318 

The  American  Association  for  Labor  Legislation  .      .      .      .  319 

XI.    IMMIGRATION 322 

History '322 

Causes 324 

Changes  in  the  Nationality  of  Immigrants 327 

Early  Opposition  to  Immigration 329 

Immigration  Problems 333 

1.  Economic  .           333 

2.  Political 345 

3.  Racial              347 

4.  The  Sentimental  Argument 350 

Legislation •   •      •  352 

Oriental  Immigration 353 

Conclusion 357 


x  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XII.     THE  SWEATED  INDUSTRIES 359 

Sweating  in  the  Clothing  Industry 362 

Wages  in  the  Sweated  Industries 364 

The  Sweat-Shop  and  the  Consumer 365 

Legislation 366 

Remedies 368 

1.  Legislation 368 

2.  Trade  Unionism 372 

3.  Education 372 

4.  Systematization  of  Industry 375 

Sweating  in  the  Factory 376 

XIII.  CHILD  LABOR 379 

Child  Labor  before  the  Civil  War 380 

Child  Labor  during  Recent  Decades 385 

Early  Legislation   in   England 387 

Legislation  in  the  United  States 389 

National  Regulation 395 

The  National  Child  Labor  Committee 398 

Viewpoints 398 

Opposition  to  the  Prohibition  of  Child  Labor 403 

XIV.  WOMAN  LABOR 408 

Woman  Labor  before  the  Civil  War 408 

Women  Wage  Earners  and  the  Wages  of  Women.      .      .      .  409 

Reasons  for  the  Low  Wages  of  Women  Workers  .      .      .      .  415 

Obstacles  to  Organization 417 

Working  Women  and  the  Home 419 

Education  of  Women 420 

Domestic  Service 421 

XV.    PRISON  LABOR 424 

Systems  of  Prison  Labor 424 

Should  the  Convict  be  a  Producer? 428 

Conclusions 429 

XVI.    UNEMPLOYMENT 431 

Causes  of  Unemployment 432 

Statistics  of  Unemployment  and  of  Irregularity  of  Employ- 
ment      436 

How  may  Unemployment  be  Reduced? 439 

The  Right  to  a  Job            ...  444 


CONTENTS  xi 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XVII.    INDUSTRIAL  AND  TRADE  EDUCATION •  .     .     .  446 

The  Training  of  Apprentices 446 

Trade  Schools 453 

Industrial  Education 458 

Correspondence  and  Night  Schools 459 

The  Conflict  of  Ideals  in  regard  to  Industrial  Education.      .  460 

XVIII.    RECENT  TENDENCIES 464 

The  Significance  of  Industrial  Unionism 464 

Political  Activity 471 

Socialistic  Tendencies 475 

INDEX 479 


THE    HISTORY   AND    PROBLEMS 
OF   ORGANIZED    LABOR 

CHAPTER  I 
THE   SIGNIFICANCE   OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

FOR  indefinite  centuries  men  have  been  seeking  for  the  solution 
of  various  problems  relating  to  the  toilers.  Students  of  ancient 
history  have  disclosed  the  struggles  of  the  plebeian  or  slave  class 
against  the  patrician  or  ruling  class,  centuries  before  the  Chris- 
tian era.  The  labor  problem  is  a  problem  of  all  nations,  all 
peoples,  and  all  centuries.  The  factors  change  but  the  problem 
remains.  History  is  really  a  story  of  the  struggle  of  the  masses 
upward;  true  history  is  a  chronicle  of  the  relations  of  man  to 
man  in  the  struggle  for  existence  and  the  subdual  of  natural 
forces.  Migrations,  wars,  changes  of  dynasties,  new  social  and 
political  alignments  are  but  the  outward  and  visible  signs  of 
adjustments  of  man  to  his  physical  and  social  environment.  Our 
labor  problems,  past  and  present,  are  the  growing  pains  of  soci- 
ety. Social  adaptation  does  not  move  smoothly  in  well  lubri- 
cated grooves.  Friction  is  very  apparent  in  the  form  of  social 
inertia,  custom,  laws,  and  class  interests.  Slavery  and  serfdom 
have  disappeared;  but  traces  of  those  older  forms  still  remain. 
The  arrogance  of  employers  and  of  the  wealthy  is  but  the 
survival  of  what  was  a  much  lauded  virtue  in  the  feudal  and 
military  age.  The  docility  and  unquestioning  obedience  so  fre- 
quently expected  of  workers  are  the  old  virtues  of  the  slave  and 
serf  clothed  in  the  costume  of  a  nominally  free  worker. 


2       HISTORY  AND   PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED   LABOR 

In  the  last  century  and  a  fraction  enormous  industrial  changes 
have  taken  place.  As  a  direct  consequence  problems  have 
arisen  which  were  utterly  unknown  and  unimagined  a  few  gen- 
erations ago.  The  problems  which  we  are  to  study  have  devel- 
oped out  of  the  changes  which  have  followed  what  is  commonly 
called  the  "Industrial  Revolution."  This  industrial  revolution 
is  not  the  only  one  in  the  world's  history.  The  use  of  bronze  or 
iron  tools,  for  example,  precipitated  an  industrial  revolution. 
The  development  of  agriculture  constituted  another  such  revo- 
lution. In  the  eighteenth  century  the  invention  of  the  steam 
engine  marked  the  opening  of  a  rapid  and  important  transfor- 
mation in  social,  political,  and  industrial  affairs.  More  recently 
the  steel  rail,  the  I-beam,  the  copper  wire,  and  the  daily  paper 
have  been  "blind revolutionists,"  and  have  shared  in  ushering  in 
a  new  social  and  industrial  era.  In  order  to  settle  the  disturbed 
human  caldron  a  new  alignment  of  individuals  and  associations 
of  individuals  is  necessary.  Organizations  of  wage  earners  are 
instrumentalities  which  have  arisen  out  of  the  complexity  and 
confusion  incidental  to  the  industrial  changes  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  The  study  of  the  problems  relating  to  labor  and 
labor  organizations  should  be  primarily  a  study  of  causes;  it 
may  logically  be  called  a  branch  of  social  physics.  Labor 
unions,  employers'  associations,  strikes,  boycotts,  the  demand 
for  the  closed  shop,  and  the  ideals  and  the  point  of  view  of 
the  unionists  are  evolved  through  the  play  of  forces  working 
within  the  economic  field.  These  problems  and  the  tendencies 
in  the  near  future  cannot  be  intelligently  studied,  and  the  prob- 
lems certainly  cannot  be  solved,  until  the  underlying  causative 
forces,  new  and  old,  physical  and  social,  are  laid  bare. 

A  labor  organization  may  be  denned  as  "a  continuous  asso- 
ciation of  wage  earners  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  or  improv- 
ing the  conditions  of  their  employment."  Since  slaves  and  serfs 
are  not  wage  earners  all  associations  of  these  working  classes  are 
not  to  be  included  in  a  study  of  labor  organizations.  Whether 


THE   SIGNIFICANCE  OF  ORGANIZED   LAfeOR  3 

the  various  associations  and  gilds  of  the  medieval  cities  were 
the  prototypes  of  the  modern  labor  organizations  need  not  be 
here  discussed.  It  is  beyond  controversy  that  the  conditions 
which  have  developed  the  labor  organization  of  the  last  of  the 
nineteenth  and  the  first  of  the  twentieth  century  are  very  dis- 
similar from  those  which  produced  the  gild  system,  and  that 
the  form  of  organization  adopted  and  the  methods  used  are 
also  quite  dissimilar.  Again,  the  ideals  and  methods  of  organ- 
ized labor  change  with  industrial  modifications,  and  also  vary 
from  trade  to  trade,  or  industry  to  industry.  Remembering 
the  variability  and  mutability  of  unionism,  a  search  may  be 
made  for  the  essential  institutions  or  social  forces  which  have 
welded  wage  earners  into  the  stable  and  aggressive  unions  of 
today.  Reduced  to  the  simplest  terms,  these  are  two  in 
number:  (i)  the  separation  of  the  workers  from  the  means  of 
production,  and"  (2)  the  extraordinary  increase  in  the  powers 
ofpro3uction  due  to  the  use  of  natural  forces  and  machinery. 

As  long  as  the  workers  used  the  tools  with  which  they  worked, 
or  owned  both  the  tools  and  the  products  of  their  labor,  the 
worker  was  not  a  wage  earner.  Before  the  modern  trade  union 
could  arise  the  cleavage  between  employer  and  employee,  between 
capitalist  and  wage  earner,  must  become  quite  distinct.  The 
rise  of  unionism  is  coincident  with  a  horizontal  cleavage  within 
what  had  been  one  industrial  class.  With  the  growth  of  the 
factory  system  the  cost  of  the  tools  and  machinery  and  of  the 
workshop  increased;  and,  consequently,  the  line  of  demarcation 
between  employer  and  employed  grew  more  distinct.  Unions 
appeared  before  the  factory  became  an  important  industrial 
factor;  but  the  factory  is  primarily  responsible  for  the  wide- 
spread and  coherent  form  of  modern  labor  organizations.  The 
increasing  use  of  machinery  and  of  natural  forces  in  manufac- 
turing and  in  transportation  multiplied  the  amount  of  capita! 
necessary  to  efficiently  carry  on  any  industrial  enterprise.  This 
circumstance  still  further  widened  the  breach  between  the 


4      HISTORY  AND    PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

employer  and  his  employee,  and  reduced  the  capillarity  of  the 
wage-earning  class.  Meanwhile  the  limits  of  the  market  area 
were  being  rapidly  pushed  further  and  further;  and  people 
were  becoming  interdependent.  Unionism,  at  first  purely  local 
and  intra-trade,  has  become  national  and  international  and 
inter-trade.  But  the  central  strand  in  this  intricate  web  of 
cause  and  effect  is  the  transformation  of  the  worker  into  a  mere 
purveyor  of  labor  power. 

Preceding  the  nineteenth  century  and  the  use  of  natural 
power  and  machinery,  leisure  and  comfort  were  considered  to 
be  the  birthright  of  only  a  few.  Hard  and  almost  continuous 
toil  on  the  part  of  the  multitude  was  necessary  to  eke  out  an 
existence.  With  the  enormous  increase  in  the  productive 
capacity  of  the  world  has  come  the  possibility  of  a  shorter 
working  day  and  of  a  rising  standard  of  living  for  the  mass  of 
toilers.  Modern  unionism  has  for  its  direct  aim  the  betterment 
of  working  conditions ;  and  such  betterment  has  been  made  pos- 
sible through  the  technical  advances  consummated  during  recent 
generations.  The  first  unions  were  exclusive  and  monopolis- 
tic; they  aimed  to  raise  a  few  workers  in  a  given  trade.  The 
present  tendency  is  toward  more  inclusive  organization,  in  order 
to  secure  for  labor  as  a  class  a  portion  of  the  benefits  of  indus- 
trial progress.  No  wide-spread  and  inclusive  labor  organiza- 
tion could  exist  until  the  long  era  of  scarcity  was  succeeded  by 
one  in  which  a  sufficiency  is  possible  for  all.  Labor  organiza- 
tions do  not  become  important  factors  in  the  community  until 
after  the  problems  centering  around  the  distribution  of  wealth, 
rather  than  around  the  production  of  wealth,  become  of  fore- 
most importance.  In  a  democracy,  modern  labor  unions  may 
utilize  two  forms  of  activity  in  order  to  accomplish  their  pur- 
poses, —  purely  economic  and  political.  Up  to  the  present 
time,  the  chief  reliance  of  the  unionists  has  been  placed  upon 
the  purely  economic  activities. 

With  the  exception  of  a  few  organizations  committed  to  the 


THE  SIGNIFICANCE  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR  5 

doctrine  of  socialism,  organized  labor  accepts  the  present  in- 
dustrial order.  It  assumes  that  the  employer-capitalist  is  a 
necessary  factor  in  production.  The  value  of  the  product  of  a 
given  establishment  may  be  divided  into  different  funds,  — 
wages,  rent,  interest,  profits,  replacement.  The  labor  organi- 
zation is  formed  to  increase  as  much  as  possible  the  fraction  of 
the  total  which  goes  to  the  laborer  in  the  form  of  wages.  The 
wage  earners  assume  that  wages  are  not  definitely  fixed  in  an 
automatic  way;  they  are  convinced  that  through  ^associated 
effort  wages  may  be  increased;  At  the  outset,  it  is  fitting  that 
brief  consideration  should  be  given  to  the  limits  of  this  "debat- 
able ground."  How  high  may  wages  permanently  rise,  and  how 
low  may  wages  permanently  fall?  The  maximum  amount 
which  an  employer  can  afford  to  pay  an  employee  is  the  equiva- 
lent of  the  increased  productivity  of  the  plant  because  of  the 
employee's  efforts.  But  the  productivity  of  the  employee 
depends  not  merely  upon  his  skill  and  efficiency  but  also  upon 
the  manner  in  which  his  labor  is  directed  and  correlated  with 
that  of  others.  The  upper  limit  may  also  be  raised  by  using 
improved  machinery,  by  utilizing  by-products  and  eliminating 
wastes,  and  by  securing  law  and  order  and  the  safety  of  in- 
vestments. Unwise  action  on  the  part  of  labor  organizations 
may  tend  to  lower  the  upper  limit.  Frequent  resort  to  strikes, 
undue  restriction  of  output,  successful  resistance  to  the  intro- 
duction of  machinery  or  new  processes  of  performing  work,  and 
opposition  to  the  training  of  apprentices  will  sooner  or  later 
lower  the  upper  wage  limit  or  retard  its  upward  movement. 
The  lower  wage  limit  is  the  absolute  minimum  necessary  to 
prevent  the  physical,  mental,  and  moral  deterioration  of  the 
workers.  Ordinarily,  the  actual  minimum  varies  with  different 
classes  of  work.  It  depends,  as  a  rule,  upon  the  standard  of 
living  required  of  the  particular  trade  at  that  particular  time 
and  in  that  particular  locality.  The  skilled  worker  usually  has 
a  higher  standard  of  living  than  the^unskilled  laborer;  and  the 


6      HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

lower  wage  limit  of  the  latter  is  lower  than  in  the  case  of  the 
former. 

Within  these  two  limits  the  actual  wage  received  will  be 
fixed.  The  exact  rate  depends  upon  a  variety  of  circumstances, 
such  as  the  bargaining  ability  of  the  workers  and  the  monopoly 
power  of  the  employer.  The  bargaining  power  of  the  isolated 
worker  is  very  slight.  His  knowledge  of  the  labor  market  and 
of  the  urgency  of  the  need  of  the  employer  is  slight;  and  his  own 
need  of  employment  is  frequently  urgent.  Again,  the  manual 
worker  is  by  reason  of  his  occupation  inexperienced  in  bar- 
gaining. The  individual  bargain  is  usually  indefinite  and 
unstandardized.  Collective  bargaining,  or  the  bargaining  of 
employees  as  a  group,  removes  many  of  the  disadvantages 
which  militate  against  the  isolated  individual  wage  earner,  and 
it  tends  to  standardize  the  conditions  of  employment,  —  hours, 
speed,  time,  and  methods  of  payment  and  the  like.  Through 
strong  unions  and  well  organized  systems  of  collective  bargain- 
ing wages  may  be  increased;  but  it  is  not  within  the  power  of 
wage  workers  using  the  purely  economic  methods  of  unionism 
to  eliminate  differential  rents  and  many  forms  of  monopoly 
gains.1 

Real  wages  in  the  accepted  technical  sense  meanthe_^um 
total  of  the  necessities,  comforts,  and  luxuries  purchased  with 
the  money  received  as  wages  by  the  wage  earner.  This  defini- 
tion is  too  narrow.  In  a  broader  sense,  real  wages  include  not 
.  only  the  goods  and  services  secured  with  money  wages,  but  also 
the  services  rendered  the  individual  by  the  community.  Gov- 
ernment ownership  of  quasi-public  business  and  the  taxation 
of  monopoly  profits  and  differential  rents  may  reduce  the  costs 
of  certain  services  and  increase  the  sum  total  of  the  services 
rendered  by  the  community  to  its  members.2 

1  Webb,  Industrial  Democracy.    Part  3,  Chapter  2. 

1  See  article  by  the  writer,  "The  Influence  of  the  Tariff  and  Monopoly  upon 
the  Increasing  Cost  of  Living,"  Proceedings  of  the  Michigan  Academy  of  Science. 
1910. 


THE  SIGNIFICANCE  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR  7 

The  political  activities  of  labor  organizations  may  have  a 
double  purpose,  (i)  Legislation  may  be  secured  which  will 
remove  all  hindrances  to  the  bargaining  activities  of  labor 
organizations  and  improve  the  working  conditions  in  factories 
and  workshops.  This  is  the  ordinary  form  of  labor  legisla- 
tion. (2)  Organized  labor  may  demand  laws  which  will  divert 
monopoly  profits  and  growing  differential  gains  into  the  public 
treasury;  and  insist  that  this  added  revenue  be  so  utilized  as 
to  increase  the  services  of  the  community  to  its  members. 

The  significance,  the  benefits,  and  the  evil  features  of  organized 
labor  cannot  be  adequately  apprehended  by  the  student  unless 
it  is  clearly  seen  that  the  cleavage  in  the  industrial  class  which 
has  led  to  the  emergence  of  an  employing  or  capitalist  class 
and  of  an  employed  or  wage-earning  class,  and  to  the  develop- 
ment of  modern  labor  organizations,  has  likewise  produced  view- 
points which  are  diametrically  opposed  to  each  other,  and  which 
cannot  be  logically  reconciled  unless  the  working  and  social 
environments  of  the  men  holding  these  contradictory  views  are 
taken  into  consideration.  Employees  speak  bitterly  of  prac- 
tices which  employers  declare  are  essential  to  the  efficiency 
of  their  establishments  and  to  the  maintenance  of  their 
rights  as  property  owners.  On  the  other  hand,  employers 
denounce  the  workers  for  practices  which  the  latter  assert  are 
necessary  to  prevent  the  degradation  of  the  wage-earning  class. 
At  least  two  reasons  may  be  given  for  this  situation.  The  first 
is  the  more  evident  and  better  known.  The  employer  is  pri- 
marily interested  in  increasing  profits  and  dividends,  in  making 
the  business  pay.  He  is  anxious  to  increase  the  output  of  his 
workers  but  not  to  increase  their  wages;  in  short,  the  employer 
is  interested  in  diminishing  the  labor  cost  of  his  product.  The 
employee,  on  the  other  hand,  is  dependent  upon  his  wages.  He 
knows  in  a  more  or  less  definite  manner  that  large  profits  are 
frequently  obtained  by  employers;  he  learns  of  watered  stock 
and  financial  melons;  he  feels  the  insistent  prod  of  the  foreman, 


8      HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

or  experiences  a  cut  in  piece  rates;  he  sees  men  overdriven  fall 
prematurely  from  the  ranks;  and  he  feels  that  his  employer  is 
interested  in  getting  as  much  out  of  him  as  possible  for  as  small 
a  wage  as  possible.  The  economic  motives  of  the  employers 
and  the  employees  seem  so  divergent  that  inevitably  their  atti- 
tude upon  matters  relating  to  the  relations  of  labor  to  capital 
are  colored  and  biased. 

The  second  and  more  subtle  cause  of  the  divergent  viewpoints 
is  the  result  of  very  different  working  environments  and  daily 
experiences.  The  worker  is  constantly  in  touch  with  concrete 
material  and  physical  forces;  he  has  little  contact  with  the 
immaterial  elements  in  society  such  as  legal  postulates,  property 
rights,  fluctuation  in  market  values  or  the  importance  of  mana- 
gerial ability.  "Everything  to  the  worker,  even  to  his  own 
activity,  is  the  outcome  of  physical  force,  undirected  and 
unchecked  by  the  spiritual  element."  The  employer  moves  in 
an  entirely  different  realm.  He  is  not  directly  and  personally 
concerned  with  the  physical  processes  of  the  factory  or  of  the 
mine.  The  employer  lives  in  an  environment  which  accepts  as 
axiomatic  the  supremacy  of  property  rights,  the  desirability  of 
legal  regulations,  and  the  supreme  importance  of  mental  ability 
and  the  "value  sense."  Since  an  individual  comprehends  only 
that  which  he  has  experienced,  or  which  is  at  least  analogous  to 
it,  the  environment  and  the  experience  of  the  two  classes  lead 
inevitably  to  the  development  of  individuals  possessed  of  diver- 
gent prejudices,  habits,  ideals,  and  modes  of  thinking.  Because 
of  widely  different  life  experiences,  intelligent  and  sincere  men 
will  insistently  adhere  to  widely  different,  but  to  each  self- 
evident,  propositions  respecting  the  same  subject. 

As  an  example,  consider  the  interpretation  of  the  famous 
phrase,  "Labor  is  entitled  to  all  that  it  produces."  The 
socialist  and  the  conservative  employer  may  both  agree  that 
labor  is  entitled  to  what  it  produces;  but  they  will  disagree  upon 
the  interpretation  of  the  common  word,  —  produce.  To  the 


THE  SIGNIFICANCE  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR  9 

wage  earner,  production  is  chiefly  a  process  involving  manual 
labor  and  physical  force.  To  the  employing  capitalist  the  most 
important  factors  are  managerial  ability  and  business  foresight. 
This  phase  of  middle-class  thought  frequently  appears  in  our 
language.  A  man  who  merely  furnishes  the  necessary  funds  for 
the  construction  of  a  dwelling  house  is  often  said  to  be  "building 
a  house."  The  worker  whose  sole  business  experience  is  re- 
stricted to  the  act  of  receiving  his  pay  envelope  every  two  or 
four  weeks  and  turning  its  contents  over  to  the  butcher,  the 
grocer,  the  landlord,  and  others,  cannot  be  expected  to  possess 
as  high  regard  for  the  inviolability  of  a  contract  as  the  business 
man  whose  success  depends  upon  the  general  recognition  of  the 
sacredness  of  contract  and  of  property  rights.  And  it  is  not 
logical  to  assert  that  one  is  more  highly  intelligent  or  moral 
merely  because  of  these  divergent  viewpoints,  which  are  the 
results  of  "natural  and  general  causation."  These  points  are 
not  merely  more  or  less  interesting  and  spectacular  matters; 
they  are  pregnant  with  considerations  which  ought  not  to  be 
overlooked  by  any  student  of  labor  problems.  Let  the  reformer, 
statesman,  philanthropist,  capitalist,  and  labor  leader  take  notice 
that  "if  you  wish  to  change  the  laborer's  [or  the  employer's] 
viewpoint  materially,  you  cannot  do  it  by  warfare  or  denuncia- 
tion. You  must  begin  back  of  the  man  upon  the  determining 
influences  which  play  upon  him"  * 

Many  students  of  the  present  are  pointing  to  the  dangers 
of  increasing  class  antagonisms,  the  concentration  of  wealth, 
ostentatious  display  and  luxurious  waste,  as  forces  gradually 
undermining  American  democracy.  But  the  growing  wage- 
earning  class  is  being  trained  in  a  practical  school  of  democracy. 
The  work  of  labor  organizations  to  improve  the  economic  status 
of  their  members  aids  in  conserving  and  in  spreading  the  funda- 
mental ideals  of  equality  and  of  general  participation  in  govern- 

1  Hoxie,  "The  Trade-Union  Point  of  View,"  Journal  of  Political  Economy. 
Vol.  15:  350.     See  also  Veblen,  The  Theory  of  Biisiness  Enterprise. 


10     HISTORY  AND   PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

ment.  The  training  received  in  labor  unions  and  in  farmers' 
organizations  improves  the  political  acumen  and  the  sense  of 
responsibility  in  the  mass  of  the  common  people.  If,  as  some 
students  of  American  life  believe,  "the  American  people  as  a 
whole  is  forgetting  how  to  be  democratic,  the  wage-earning  part 
of  the  people  is  learning  by  persistent  experiment  how  to  be 
more  and  more  democratic  in  the  day  by  day  work  of  organizing 
and  carrying  forward  the  labor  movement."  l  Organized  labor 
may  be  considered  to  be  an  important  conservator  of  modern 
democracy. 

REFERENCES  FOR  FURTHER  READING 

Adams  and  Sumner,  Labor  Problems.     Ch.  i,  and  Sec.  7,  Ch.  7. 

Webb,  History  of  Trade  Unionism.      Ch.  i. 

Webb,  Industrial  Democracy.     Part  III,  Ch.  2. 

Veblen,  The  Theory  of  Business  Enterprise.     Chs.  2,  3,  and  9. 

Hoxie,  "The  Trade-Union  Point  of  View,"  Journal  of  Political 
Economy.  Vol.  15  :  345-363. 

Turner,  "  Social  Forces  in  American  History,"  The  American  Historical 
Review.  Vol.  16  :  217-233. 

1  Editorial,  The  Independent.    July  7,  1910,  p.  44. 


CHAPTER  II 
LABOR  IN  THE  COLONIAL  AND  REVOLUTIONARY  PERIOD 

THE  history  of  America  unfolds  as  a  rapidly  moving  pano- 
rama the  evolution  and  decline  of  social  and  industrial  systems 
similar  to  those  which  have  been  more  slowly  and  obscurely 
unrolled  in  the  other  portions  of  the  globe.  The  movement  of 
population  from  a  relatively  densely  populated  territory  to  a 
new  country  possessing  a  rich  and  virgin  soil  invariably  causes 
the  settlers  to  retrogress  in  the  social  and  industrial  scale.  The 
clock  of  progress  is  temporarily  turned  backward.  Necessity 
forces  the  newcomers  to  adopt  customs  and  methods  of  living 
and  of  gaining  a  livelihood  which  their  ancestors  had  discarded. 
Many  old  and  forgotten  social  and  industrial  difficulties  and 
problems  reappear  when  a  new  country  is  being  populated  and 
exploited.  As  the  American  pioneers  possessed  the  knowledge 
and  experience  of  the  centuries  which  had  passed  since  Euro- 
peans outgrew  primitive  barbarism,  the  march  of  institutions 
in  the  New  World  did  not  follow  with  exactitude  the  course  of 
development  disclosed  in  European  history.  New  elements 
were  introduced  into  the  problem;  the  balance  of  social  forces 
was  different.  When  the  movement  of  settlers  to  America 
began,  Europe  had  for  centuries  abandoned  the  system  of 
enslaving  white  men  and  women,  and  was  passing  out  of  feudal- 
ism. England,  the  most  advanced  nation  of  Europe,  had  prac- 
tically emerged  from  the  feudal  period.  Englishmen  and  other 
Europeans  upon  coming  to  America  were  confronted  by  a  new 
and  peculiar  situation.  Land  was  abundant  and  labor  was 
scarce;  but  the  land  could  not  be  exploited  and  large  profits 
derived  without  laborers  who  worked  for  small  returns.  Free 


12     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

and  uncoerced  laborers  would  demand  high  wages,  or  they  would 
become  independent  laborers  upon  the  land.  The  demand  for 
controllable  manual  workers  to  do  the  rough  and  hard  work  of 
the  pioneer  agriculturalist  soon  became  insistent.  Old  methods 
of  controlling  and  exploiting  laborers  were  readopted  with  alac- 
rity. The  indentured  servant  was  the  nearest  approach  to 
slavery  for  whites  which  the  moral  ideals  of  the  period  and  the 
legal  rights  vouchsafed  white  workers  permitted.  But  in  the 
case  of  the  black  and  the  red  man,  the  pressure  of  the  demand 
for  workers  overcame  all  difficulties;  and  on  the  new  continent 
slavery  was  reintroduced  among  European  people.  The  per- 
sonal characteristics  of  the  Indian  prevented  any  extensive  use 
of  the  red  man  as  a  slave;  but  the  negro  proved  to  be  docile  and 
workable.  After  slavery  was  established,  one  great  factor  in 
its  continuation  was  the  great  racial  gulf  between  blacks  and 
whites.  The  establishment  and  continuation  of  the  slave  sys- 
tem on  the  American  continent  centuries  after  its  disappear- 
ance in  northern  Europe  must  be  attributed  to  two  cooperating 
causes:  the  presence  of  abundant  land  and  the  wide  racial 
differences  between  masters  and  slaves. 

Differences  in  climatic  conditions,  the  nature  of  the  soil,  and 
the  character  of  the  settlers  in  the  various  parts  of  the  seaboard 
district  led  to  the  wide  differences  in  industrial  conditions.  The 
North  was  peopled  by  men  and  women  coming  from  the  portion 
of  England  which  had  progressed  farthest  from  the  old  feudal 
regime  toward  modern  industrial  conditions;  and  slavery  did 
not  prove  to  be  profitable  in  the  North;  The  South,  on  the 
other  hand,  was  populated  by  men  of  the  older  type  and  slavery 
was  found  to  be  profitable.  The  plantation  system  was  essen- 
tially feudalistic;  the  small  farm  and  the  small  manufacturing 
establishment  of  the  North  could  not  be  efficiently  worked 
by  the  slave  or  the  serf.  Two  entirely  different  social  and  in- 
dustrial systems  were  thus  planted  on  American  soil.  The 
plantation  system  and  negro  slavery  were  to  hold  the  South  in 


IN  THE  COLONIAL  AND  REVOLUTIONARY  PERIOD      13 

its  grip  until  the  last  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  were  to 
retard  the  growth  of  modern  industry  in  that  section.  As  long 
as  slavery  was  continued  the  waves  of  industrial  progress  which 
swept  over  the  North  never  reached  beyond  Mason  and  Dixon's 
line.  Until  its  awakening,  during  the  last  two  or  three  decades, 
the  South  socially  and  industrially  was  a  belated  section. 

Colonial  America  was  preeminently  a  land  of  farmers.  In 
the  North,  the  small  farm  system  and  the  scarcity  of  labor 
caused  interdependence  and  cooperation  to  become  character- 
istic of  the  people.  In  New  England  the  lack  of  soil  fertility 
caused  many  to  turn  their  backs  upon  the  farm  and  to  become 
fishermen,  sailors,  and  merchants.  Each  colonial  farmer  of  the  - 
North  was  also  a  mechanic;  he  made  the  implements  required 
upon  the  farm  and  attended  to  the  necessary  repairs.  Co- 
operation between  farmers  took  the  form  of  exchange  of  services 
in  harvesting  or  in  house  or  barn  "raisings."  The  latter  were 
important  social  events  in  which  the  spirit  of  rivalry  or  of  emu- 
lation played  an  important  role.  Meals  were  served  by  the 
women,  and  the  occasion  was  made  a  gala  day  for  the  neighbor- 
hood. Cloth  was  woven  and  the  clothing  for  the  family  was 
manufactured  in  the  home  by  the  women  and  the  children 
of  the  household.  Saw-mills,  grist-mills,  tanneries,  salt-works, 
and  glass-works  were  early  established  on  a  humble  scale.  The 
saw-mill  was  used  in  New  England  before  it  was  introduced  into 
England  or  Holland.  Opposition  to  labor-saving  machines  did 
not  early  develop  in  America  because  of  the  scarcity  of  labor  and 
because  each  worker  hoped  soon  to  become  a  small  farmer  or  a 
small  manufacturer.  In  the  South  a  very  different  situation 
existed.  Each  plantation  was  an  isolated  and  nearly  an  inde- 
pendent economic  unit.  Such  goods  as  were  purchased  came 
directly  from  Europe,  and  were  landed  on  the  wharves  of  the 
various  plantations.  Consequently,  a  merchant  class  did  not 
develop  in  the  colonial  South. 
The  manual  laborers  of  the  colonial  period  who  were  employed 


14     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

by  employers  or  owners  may  be  divided  into  three  classes: 
wage  earners,  indentured  servants,  and  slaves.  The  wage 
earners  and  indentured  servants  were  found  chiefly  in  the  North; 
the  majority  of  the  slaves  were  located  upon  the  plantations  of 
the  South.  The  Puritan  of  New  England  attempted  to  regulate 
minutely  the  private  and  public  life  of  all  the  members  of  the 
community.  The  authorities  of  colonial  New  England  passed 
regulations  minutely  prescribing  the  mode  of  dress,  the  method 
of  cutting  hair,  the  entertainment  of  guests,  the  nature  of 
amusements,  the  scale  of  prices  and  of  wages,  and  various  other 
details  of  social  and  industrial  life. 

The  Court  of  Assistants  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony,  at 
its  first  meeting  in  August,  1630,  fixed  the  wages  of  artisans, 
such  as  carpenters,  masons,  sawyers.  Soon  after,  these  regu- 
lations were  repealed.  In  1633  another  attempt  was  made  to 
fix  the  wages  of  various  journeymen  at  not  more  than  two  shill- 
ings (about  fifty  cents)  per  day,  exclusive  of  board.  Wages  of 
inferior  or  unskilled  workmen  were  to  be  rated  by  certain  local 
authorities.  Penalties  were  to  be  applied  to  both  master  and 
men  for  violating  the  law.  In  the  same  year  a  sweeping  general 
order  was  promulgated  fixing  the  price  of  provisions,  clothing, 
tools,  and  other  commodities.  The  General  Court  alleged  that 
"  the  great  extortion  used  by  divers  persons  of  little  conscience" 
made  this  legislation  imperative.  In  1634  the  penalty  imposed 
upon  those  who  paid  more  than  the  wages  allowed  by  the  colo- 
nial authorities  was  repealed,  and  a  board  of  three  men  for  each 
town  was  authorized  to  fix  wages  in  case  a  dispute  arose.  This 
is  perhaps  the  earliest  legal  provision  for  the  establishment  of  a 
court  of  industrial  arbitration  on  American  soil.  In  1640  a 
considerable  fall  in  prices  occurred;  and  the  General  Court 
ordered  wages  reduced  in  proportion  to  the  fall  in  prices.  In 
Connecticut  certain  towns  also  fixed  the  wages  of  laborers. 
The  frequent  repetition  of  similar  legislation  indicates  that  it 
was  in  a  large  measure  ineffectual,  and  such  attempts  finally 


IN  THE  COLONIAL  AND  REVOLUTIONARY  PERIOD      15 

ceased.  During  the  Revolution,  while  the  country  was  being 
flooded  with  paper  money,  other  brief  and  ineffectual  attempts 
were  also  made  to  fix  prices. 

At  the  close  of  the  Revolution  wages  were  low  and  the  price 
of  the  necessities  of  life  high.  The  home  of  the  workman  was 
unadorned  and  uninviting.  "Sand  sprinkled  on  the  floor  did 
duty  as  a  carpet.  There  was  no  china  in  his  cupboard,  there 
were  no  prints  on  his  wall.  What  a  stove  was  he  did  not  know, 
coal  he  had  never  seen,  matches  he  had  never  heard  of.  ...  He 
rarely  tasted  fresh  meat  as  often  as  once  a  week,  and  paid  for  it 
a  much  higher  price  than  his  posterity.  ...  If  the  food  of  an 
artisan  would  now  be  thought  coarse,  his  clothes  would  be 
thought  abominable.  A  pair  of  yellow  buckskin  or  leathern 
breeches,  a  red  flannel  jacket,  a  checked  shirt,  a  rusty  felt  hat 
cocked  up  at  the  corners,  shoes  of  neat's-skin  set  off  by  huge 
buckles  of  brass,  and  a  leathern  apron,  comprised  his  scanty 
wardrobe.  The  leather  he  smeared  with  grease  to  keep  it  soft 
and  flexible."1  These  were  the  conditions  in  the  "good  old 
times."  While  the  contrast  between  rich  and  poor  may  be 
more  apparent  today  than  a  century  ago,  the  average  working- 
man  of  today  can  get  more  of  the  necessities  and  comforts  of 
life  than  his  predecessors  of  three  or  four  generations  ago. 
Absolutely,  if  not  relatively,  the  workingmen's  position  has 
improved.  The  workman  who  got  into  debt  was  liable  to 
imprisonment  in  vile  prisons.  The  conditions  in  some  of  the 
colonial  prisons  beggar  description.  McMaster  has  pointed 
out  that  we  of  today  feel  more  compassion  "  for  a  galled  horse  or 
a  dog  run  over  at  a  street-crossing  than  our  great-grandfathers 
felt  for  a  woman  beaten  for  cursing  or  a  man  imprisoned  for 
debt."  The  workers  of  the  colonial  and  revolutionary  period 
had  little  or  no  intellectual  stimulus.  Their  environment  was 
purely  local;  little  or  nothing  was  known  of  the  outside  world; 
and  little  opportunity  was  afforded  for  united  action.  The  wage 

1  McMaster,  History  of  the  People  of  the  United  States.    Vol.  i :  96-97. 


1 6     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

earners  of  this  period  were  not  factors  in  the  political  world. 
The  wage  earner  without  property  was  denied  the  right  to  vote. 

The  gild  system  appeared  in  the  colonies  only  in  a  rudi- 
mentary way.  The  first  American  gild  seems  to  have  been 
organized  among  the  shoemakers  of  Boston.  It  was  incor- 
porated by  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony  in  1648.  The 
coopers  were  likewise  organized  as  a  gild.  The  shoemakers 
formed  a  gild  for  the  chief  purpose  of  controlling  inferior 
workmen.  The  gild  officers  were  given  certain  powers  of 
inspection  and  of  regulation,  and  they  could  penalize  workers 
for  any  violation  of  the  rules  and  regulations.  The  colonial 
authorities,  however,  retained  the  power  to  remedy  abuses. 
The  gild  was  organized  during  the  process  of  "transition  from 
the  stage  of  the  itinerant  shoemaker,  working  up  the  raw 
material  belonging  to  his  customer  in  the  home  of  the  latter, 
to  the  stage  of  the  settled  shoemaker,  working  up  his  own  raw 
material  in  his  own  shop  to  the  order  of  his  customer. "  l 

In  the  eighteenth  century  a  few  organizations  appear  which 
bear  the  characteristic  marks  of  the  local  trade  union.  Early 
in  the  century  the  ship  calkers  formed  a  "calkers  club";  but  the 
purposes  were  primarily  political,  not  economic.  Temporary 
organizations  or  societies  of  printers  were  organized  from  time 
to  time,  beginning  in  New  York  City  in  1776.  "The  Typo- 
graphical Society"  of  that  city  was  in  existence  from  1795 
to  1797.  Professor  Commons  calls  the  "Federal  Society  of 
Journeymen  Cordwainers,"  organized  in  Philadelphia  in  1794, 
the  first  American  trade  union.  This  organization  was  pre- 
ceded by  an  employers'  association, —the  "Society  of  Master 
Cordwainers  of  the  City  of  Philadelphia,"  formed  in  1789. 
The  cordwainers  held  together  for  twelve  years;  in  1799  they 
conducted  a  strike  of  about  ten  weeks'  duration.  The  New 
York  shipwrights  formed  a  society  in  1803;  the  carpenters  of 

1  Commons,    "American   Shoemakers,    1648-1895,"    Quarterly   Journal   oj 
Economics.    Vol.  23  :  42. 


IN  THE  COLONIAL  AND  REVOLUTIONARY  PERIOD      17 

that  city  organized  in  1806;  and  the  tailors  formed  a  union  in  the 
same  year.  The  organizations  of  this  period  were  weak,  local, 
ephemeral,  and  few  in  number.  Not  until  after  the  War  of 
1812  does  the  real  history  of  labor  organizations  actually  begin. 

The  indentured  servants  were  of  three  distinct  classes: 
redemptioners  or  free-willers,  kidnapped  persons,  and  criminals. 
The  chief  distinction  between  indentured  servants  and  appren- 
tices was  one  of  age.  The  redemptioners  were  indentured  for  a 
limited  term  of  years,  usually  because  of  the  prepayment  of  the 
passage  money.  Many,  attracted  by  the  promise  of  better 
opportunities  in  the  New  World,  were  willing  to  exchange  their 
labor  power  for  a  term  of  years  in  return  for  transportation  to 
the  land  of  promise.  "  Valuations  of  unexpired  serving-time 
were  common  matter  in  inventories."  The  redemptioners 
were  frequently  skilled  workmen  coming  from  a  variety  of 
places.  "Irish,  North  British,  German,  a  'Jersey  boy'  and  a 
'Jersey  maid'  were  all  melted  in  a  fierce  ethnical  crucible,  and 
were  blended  together  by  that  strange  assimilating  power 
working  constantly  in  American  history."1  After  their  term 
of  service  expired,  the  majority  of  the  male  indentured  servants 
of  this  class  became  farmers  and  artisans,  and  the  women  mar- 
ried freemen.  Many  German  redemptioners  migrated  to  this 
country  during  the  half  century  preceding  the  opening  of  the 
Revolution. 

Kidnapping  or  "spiriting"  was  most  prevalent  in  England 
during  the  reign  of  Charles  II.  Boys  and  girls  of  the  poorer 
classes  were  usually  the  victims  of  the  kidnappers  or  "spiriters." 
It  was  estimated  that  about  ten  thousand  persons  were  kid- 
napped in  England  during  the  year  1670.  One  professional 
kidnapper  is  said  to  have  sent  840  persons  to  America  in  one 
year.  The  punishment  for  kidnapping  was  light.  For  example, 
one  girl  was  spirited  away  by  a  man  and  a  woman.  Each  was 
fined  twelve  pence.  If  they  had  stolen  a  small  amount  of  prop- 

1  Weeden,  Economic  and  Social  History  of  New  England.    Vol.  2:  521. 


1 8     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

erty,  the  punishment  would  have  been  death.  Judges  in  those 
days  were  very  zealous  in  guarding  property  rights;  but  personal 
rights  were  considered  to  be  of  little  importance.  The  judicial 
and  popular  attitude  of  leniency  toward  the  crime  of  kidnapping 
helpless  victims  and  selling  them  into  temporary  servitude  was 
due  chiefly  to  two  considerations.  In  the  first  place,  it  was  felt 
that  "  the  plantations  cannot  be  maintained  without  a  consid- 
erable number  of  white  servants, "  and  consequently  any  feeling 
of  humanitarianism  gave  way  to  what  was  believed  to  be  eco- 
nomic necessity.  Secondly,  as  has  been  indicated,  judges  and 
other  persons  exhibited  little  sympathy  for  human  suffering.1 

Deportation  and  banishment  of  criminals  and  other  unde- 
sirable persons  were  common  forms  of  punishment  in  ancient 
and  medieval  times.  The  transportation  of  such  persons  to  the 
American  colonies  served  a  double  purpose.  England  was  rid 
of  criminals  and  agitators,  and  the  colonies  received  a  needed 
supply  of  laborers.  Beginning  with  1662,  various  acts  were 
passed  authorizing  the  deportation  of  various  malefactors.  A 
statute  of  1717  systematized  this  legislation  and  provided  that 
certain  classes  might  be  transported  for  seven  years,  others  for 
fourteen  years.  At  least  fifty  thousand  convicts  are  estimated 
to  have  been  sent  to  the  colonies  from  Great  Britain  and  Ireland. 
Maryland  received  more  of  these  convicts  than  any  other 
colony;  the  majority  of  the  indentured  servants  in  that 
colony  were  of  this  class. 

Servants  were  treated  with  practically  the  same  severity  as 
were  the  slaves.  They  could  be  flogged  for  disobedience;  the 
law  in  regard  to  runaways  applied  to  servants  and  slaves  alike. 
Some  colonies  passed  laws  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  cruel 
punishments  and  extraordinary  exactions,  and  requiring  the 
master  to  educate  the  youthful  servants.  As  the  indentured 
servant  could  only  be  used  for  a  period  of  years  and  need  not  be 
cared  for  by  their  master  in  old  age,  the  tendency  was  to  over- 

1  Channing,  History  of  the  United  States.    Vol.  2  :  368-370. 


IN  THE  COLONIAL  AND  REVOLUTIONARY  PERIOD      19 

drive  the  servant  even  more  than  the  slave.  However,  Professor 
Charming  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  condition  of  the  indentured 
servant  was  good  until  negro  slavery  became  common. 

In  the  early  history  of  the  country  slavery  existed  in  nearly 
all  of  the  colonies.  It  was  by  no  means  confined  to  the  Southern 
colonies;  slaves  were  held  by  the  Puritan  in  Massachusetts,  the 
radical  of  Rhode  Island,  and  the  Quaker  of  Pennsylvania. 
Many  leading  New  Englanders  were  engaged  in  the  slave  traffic, 
and  many  blacks,  free  and  slave,  fought  hi  the  Revolution; 
Purely  natural  causes  are  responsible  for  the  decline  of  the 
slave  system  in  the  North  and  for  its  rapid  expansion  in  the 
South.  In  the  North  there  was  need  of  skilled  workers,  slaves 
could  not  be  used  effectively  on  the  small  farms  of  that  section, 
and  the  negro  was  not  well  adapted  to  the  cold  and  dampness 
of  the  North.  Consequently,  the  chief  demand  for  slaves  in  the 
North  was  for  domestic  service  or  for  the  purpose  of  exhibiting 
conspicuous  luxury.  In  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century 
the  plantations  of  Rhode  Island  utilized  the  labor  of  a  consid- 
erable number  of  slaves.  Slavery  both  North  and  South  was  on 
the  decline  when  the  invention  of  the  cotton  gin  revolutionized 
economic  condition  in  the  South.  Many  of  the  Southern 
leaders  of  the  revolutionary  period  were  opposed  to  the  system 
and  hoped  to  see  its  gradual  extinction.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  Jefferson  in  the  original  draft  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence bitterly  arraigned  George  III  because  he  had  aided 
the  slave  traffic.  George  III  "has  prostituted  his  negative  for 
suppressing  every  legislative  attempt  to  prohibit  or  to  restrain 
this  execrable  commerce."  As  late  as  1821  a  Richmond  news- 
paper, lamenting  the  backward  conditions  existing  in  Virginia, 
declared  that  "slavery  is  one  great  cause  of  all  our  misfortunes. " 

The  prevalence  of  slavery  in  the  South  during  the  first  six 
decades  of  the  nineteenth  century  is  in  no  small  measure  re- 
sponsible for  the  absence  of  industrial  progress.  While  the  North 
was  developing  rapidly,  while  England,  Germany,  and  France 


20     HISTORY  AND   PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

were  being  transformed  industrially,  the  South  was  throttled  by 
an  outgrown  economic  system.  Manufacture  and  intensive 
agriculture  were  practically  unknown.  Agricultural  methods 
were  "stereotyped."  The  development  of  the  factory  system 
and  the  history  of  organized  labor  in  the  South  do  not  begin  until 
recent  decades;  and  even  today  the  presence  of  the  black  man 
complicates  the  situation.  The  political,  industrial,  and  social 
conditions  existing  in  the  South  of  today  have  been  fashioned  in 
no  small  measure  by  forces  growing  out  of  the  long  continuation 
of  negro  slavery  and  the  presence  in  recent  decades  of  large 
numbers  of  emancipated  slaves  and  their  descendants.  Indus- 
trially the  South  is  still  several  decades  behind  the  North;  but  it 
is  now  in  a  state  of  rapid  evolution.1  The  presence  of  the 
negro  as  a  slave  and  as  a  freeman  has  forced  upon  the  South, 
in  an  aggravated  form,  many  of  the  complex  problems  which 
recent  immigration  has  given  to  the  remainder  of  the  United 
States. 

REFERENCES  FOR  FURTHER  READING 

McMaster,  History  of  the  People  of  the  United  States.     Vol.  I. 

Channing,  History  of  the  United  States.     Vol.  II,  Ch.  13. 

Howe,  The  Puritan  Republic. 

Wright,  Industrial  Evolution  of  the  United  States.     Chs.  1-9,  and  18. 

Weeden,  Economic  and  Social  History  of  New  England. 

Coman,  Industrial  History  of  the  United  States.     Pp.  41-46. 

Mitchell,  Organized  Labor.    Pp.  51-62. 

1  See  article  by  the  writer,  "The  South  during  the  Last  Decade,"  Sewanee 
Review.     Vol.  12  :  174-181.   (1904). 


CHAPTER  HI 

THE    PRE-CIVIL    WAR    PERIOD 

The  Development  of  the  Factory  System. — In  the  colonial  and 
revolutionary  period  all  industry  was  in  the  domestic  or  handi- 
craft stage.  Manufacture  was  carried  on  in  the  home  or  in 
small  shops;  it  was  still,  as  the  derivation  of  the  word  indicates, 
the  making  of  things  by  hand.  The  workers  were  isolated  from 
each  other  or  associated  together  in  small  groups.  The  worker 
usually  owned  his  tools,  and  frequently  the  raw  materials  and  the 
products  of  his  labor.  There  was  little  or  no  division  of  labor, 
or  use  of  power  other  than  human  brawn  and  muscle.  In  the 
factory  system  with  which  we  are  familiar  today,  many  workers 
are  associated  together  who  do  not  own  the  tools  or  machines 
with  which  they  work,  the  raw  material  which  they  form  into 
finished  or  semi-finished  products,  or  the  products  of  their  toil. 
Division  of  labor  is  often  minute,  and  is  always  present.  Or- 
ganization, systematization,  and  concentration  are  characteris- 
tic of  the  modern  factory  system.  The  worker  is  a  wage  earner; 
and,  with  rare  exceptions,  cannot  pass  from  that  rank  to  the 
coveted  position  of  employer.  Steam,  gas,  or  water  power,  not 
human  energy,  is  the  motive  force  which  drives  the  machines 
assembled  in  the  factory.  Since  the  adoption  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, the  United  States  has  passed  through  an  industrial  evolu- 
tion which  has  displaced,  except  in  the  case  of  a  few  "belated" 
industries,  the  household  form  of  industry  and  substituted  in 
its  place  a  highly  organized  form  of  the  factory  system. 

The  factory  system  has  not  evolved  at  a  uniform  pace  in  all 
portions  of  the  industrial  organism.  Cotton  manufacture  was 
the  first  to  pass  from  the  household  stage;  and  woolen  manu- 

21 


22      HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

facture  followed  closely  in  its  footsteps.  Certain  industries  are 
even  now  in  the  transitional  stage,  as,  for  example,  the  clothing 
industry,  laundering,  and  cooking.  England  was  the  leader  in 
the  so-called  industrial  revolution.  Beginning  in  the  early 
portion  of  the  second  half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  a  series  of 
inventions  gave  the  impetus  which  led  to  the  utilization  of 
machinery  on  a  large  scale.  Before  this  time  yarn  had  been 
spun  in  single  threads  upon  a  spinning  wheel;  and  weaving  was 
accomplished  by  means  of  a  hand-loom.  As  the  latter  was  the 
more  efficient  of  the  two  machines,  the  first  inventions  were 
attempts  to  improve  the  method  of  spinning.  James  Har- 
greaves,  a  weaver  of  Lancashire,  invented  the  spinning  "jenny." 
This  name  was  chosen  in  honor  of  the  inventor's  wife.  In  1767 
Hargreaves  built  the  first  spinning  jenny  bearing  eight  spindles. 
Although  other  attempts  had  been  made  to  construct  a  spinning 
machine  of  more  than  one  spindle,  this  was  the  first  one  that 
was  of  practical  value.  This  primitive  machine  caused  anxiety 
among  the  spinners,  who  feared  that  it  would  displace  many  of 
them,  and  at  one  time  a  mob  broke  into  the  house  of  the  inventor 
and  destroyed  the  machine.  The  inventions  of  Arkwright  and 
Crompton  increased  the  efficiency  of  spinning  machinery. 
Consequently,  improvements  were  demanded  in  the  process  of 
weaving.  In  1785  a  clergyman,  named  Cartwright,  invented 
the  power-loom.  The  necessary  mechanism  for  the  advent 
of  the  factory*  system  in  the  textile  industry  was  now 
complete. 

England,  through  the  use  of  this  machinery,  was  given  a  point 
of  vantage  over  the  remainder  of  the  world.  Without  the  use  of 
machinery,  no  nation  could  hope  to  successfully  compete  with 
the  island  kingdom.  In  order  to  retain  this  advantage,  Parlia- 
ment passed  laws  which  prohibited  the  exportation  of  machines, 
tools,  and  models,  and  which  made  it  a  criminal  offense  to  try 
to  induce  textile  operatives  to  leave  England.  By  means  of 
these  mercantilist  policies,  England  was  able  to  retard  slightly 


THE  PRE-CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD  23 

the  development  of  manufacture  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic; 
but  irrespective  of  the  governmental  policy,  the  growth  of  the 
factory  system  in  the  United  States  would  have  lagged  behind 
the  development  in  England. 

The  first  factory  in  the  United  States  was  erected  for  the  pur- 
pose of  manufacturing  cotton  goods  at  Beverly,  Massachusetts, 
in  the  year  1787.  This  venture,  as  well  as  several  others  made 
in  different  places,  was  unsuccessful.  The  Slater  factory  at 
Pawtucket,  Rhode  Island,  built  in  1790,  was  the  first  successful 
venture.  Samuel  Slater,  the  "father  of  American  manufac- 
ture," had  served  as  an  apprentice  at  cotton  spinning  in  England. 
Learning  of  the  opportunities  in  this  country,  he  determined  to 
cross  the  Atlantic  and  to  introduce  improved  spinning  machinery 
on  this  side  of  the  ocean.  Slater  was  obliged  to  come  without 
drawings  or  models;  he  constructed  the  machinery  used  in  the 
Pawtucket  mill  aided  only  by  his  memory  of  the  machines  which 
he  had  operated  in  England.  Development  in  the  cotton  indus- 
try was  very  slow  for  many  years,  as  the  importation  of  cotton 
goods  from  England  was  considerable.  According  to  J.  L. 
Bishop,  in  his  History  of  American  Manufactures,  there  were, 
in  1803,  only  four  cotton  mills  in  the  entire  United  States.  The 
early  factories  only  had  machinery  for  spinning.  It  was  not 
until  1814,  that  Francis  Lowell,  practically  independent  of 
English  aid,  invented  a  power-loom.  This  was  first  installed  in 
a  factory  at  Waltham,  Massachusetts.  This  was  the  first  com- 
plete factory  for  the  conversion  of  cotton  into  cloth,  erected  in 
the  United  States. 

In  1794  machinery  was  first  introduced  into  the  woolen  in- 
dustry in  this  country;  the  machinery  was  introduced  by  Eng- 
lishmen. Three  years  later  a  factory  was  built  for  the  purpose 
of  spinning  and  weaving  flax,  hemp,  and  tow.  Water  power 
furnished  the  motive  force;  and  the  employees  were  mostly 
boys. 

During  the  infancy  of  the  iron  industry,  charcoal  was  used  in 


24     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

furnaces  for  the  reduction  of  the  ore  to  pig  iron.  Before  1800 
the  iron  industry  was  confined  to  the  region  east  of  the  Alle- 
gheny mountains.  The  eastern  portion  of  Pennsylvania  con- 
tained many  furnaces  and  several  rolling  and  slitting  mills. 
About  1815  England  began  to  use  coke  made  from  bituminous 
or  soft  coal  instead  of  charcoal.  Our  bituminous  deposits  were 
located  too  far  from  the  coast  regions  to  be  economically  avail- 
able until  transportation  facilities  were  improved;  and,  as  the 
forests  on  the  coast  began  to  disappear,  charcoal  became  ex- 
pensive. England  using  coke,  and  other  countries  of  northern 
Europe  still  having  plentiful  supplies  of  charcoal,  now  became 
dangerous  competitors  of  our  iron  manufacture.  Soon  after 
the  opening  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  iron  industry  began 
to  develop  in  western  Pennsylvania.  But  it  was  necessary  that 
transportation  facilities  be  much  improved  before  our  iron, 
which  was  located,  in  a  large  measure,  inland,  could  successfully 
compete  with  that  produced  in  England  and  Scandinavia,  in 
the  markets  along  the  Atlantic  coast  plain.  With  the  growth 
of  manufacture  in  other  lines,  the  demand  for  iron  increased 
rapidly;  but  the  importation  from  Europe  practically  kept 
pace  with  the  expansion  of  the  market.  Professor  Taussig 
estimated  that  the  imports  of  crude  iron  averaged  about  twenty 
thousand  tons  per  year  in  1818-1821,  and  about  forty  thousand 
tons  in  1828-1830. 1  In  spite  of  a  protective  tariff  the  iron 
industries  grew  slowly  and  were  unable  to  develop  so  as  to 
supply  the  home  market.  The  phenomenal  growth  of  the  iron 
industry  in  this  country  began  with  the  extensive  use  of  an- 
thracite coal  in  the  process  of  smelting.  This  stage  was  reached 
about  1840.  In  1860  soft  coal  or  coke  began  to  rapidly  take 
the  place  of  anthracite.  After  1840  the  demand  for  iron  rails 
for  railways  greatly  stimulated  the  evolution  of  the  iron  indus- 
try. The  production  of  pig  iron  rose  from  about  20,000  tons  in 
1820  to  315,000  in  1840,  to  920,000  in  1860. 

1  Tari/  History  of  the  United  Stales.     P.  55,  footnote. 


THE  PRE-CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD  25 

The  embargo  act  and  the  War  of  1812  gave  the  real  impetus 
which  led  to  the  rapid  growth  of  the  factory  system.  From  that 
time,  except  during  certain  periods  of  depression,  the  student  of 
industrial  history  views  the  gradual  destruction  of  the  crude  and 
unsystematic  form  of  domestic  industry  and  the  corresponding 
growth  of  the  factory  system.  The  period  1816  to  1822  was  one 
of  depression  in  industry.  But  as  early  as  1821  the  cotton 
industry  began  to  enter  upon  an  era  of  prosperity.  Many 
New  England  towns  date  their  birth  from  the  early  twenties. 
During  the  two  decades  1820-1840  the  number  of  persons 
living  in  the  Northern  states  and  engaged  in  manufacture 
increased  much  more  rapidly  than  did  the  number  engaged 
in  commerce  or  agriculture.  In  Massachusetts,  during  this 
period  of  twenty  years,  the  number  engaged  in  manufacture 
was  multiplied  nearly  threefold,  while  the  number  engaged  in 
commerce  was  diminished  nearly  forty  per  cent.  These  statis- 
tics show  clearly  the  reason  for  the  change  in  the  attitude  of 
Massachusetts  upon  the  question  of  protection.  The  following 
table  presents  the  census  figures  for  six  Northern  states.  The 
classification  adopted  by  the  census  authorities  in  1840  was 
somewhat  broader  than  the  one  used  in  1820;  but  a  fairly 
accurate  comparison  can  be  drawn. 


The  Number  of  Persons  engaged  in 
Agriculture  Commerce 


Manufacture 


1820 

1840 

1820 

1840 

1820 

1840 

Massachusetts 

.    63,460 

87,837 

13,301 

8,063 

33,464 

85,176 

Connecticut  .  . 

50,518 

56,955 

3,58l 

2,743 

17,541 

27,932 

Rhode  Island  . 

12,559 

16,617 

I,l62 

i,348 

6,091 

21,271 

New  York    .  .  . 

.  247,648 

455,954 

9,"3 

28,468 

60,038 

173,193 

Pennsylvania  . 

.  140,801 

207,533 

7,083 

15,338 

6O,2I5 

105,883 

Ohio    . 

IIO.OOI 

272.  57O 

i  j.<;o 

O.2OI 

i8.o<;6 

66.26"; 

Three  stages  may  be  discerned  in  the  evolution  of  manufac- 
turing industries,  —  expansion,  concentration  or  large-scale 
development,  and  integration  or  combination.  During  the 
first  stage  the  number  of  establishments  in  a  given  industry,  as 


26      HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

well  as  the  total  amount  of  capital  and  the  total  number  of 
wage  earners  connected  with  the  particular  industry,  rapidly 
increases.  During  the  second  stage  the  amount  of  capital  and 
the  number  of  wage  earners  connected  with  the  industry  still 
increase,  but  the  number  of  establishments  tends  to  diminish  or 
to  remain  stationary.  In  other  words,  the  average  size  of  each 
establishment  increases  rapidly  in  regard  to  the  capital  invested, 
output,  and  the  number  of  employees.  During  the  stage  of 
combination  allied  industries  are  gradually  drawn  under  the 
same  management  or  control. 

It  has  been  stated  that  industries  enter  the  factory  stage  at 
different  chronological  periods.  In  like  manner,  different  indus- 
tries pass  through  these  three  steps  in  industrial  evolution  at 
different  rates.  In  general,  however,  in  the  United  States  the 
era  of  expansion  extended  from  1808  to  1857,  the  era  of  concen- 
tration from  1857  to  1893,  and  the  epoch  of  combination  from 
the  last  named  date  to  the  present  time.  In  the  cotton  industry 
concentration  began  as  early  as  the  decade  of  the  forties.  In 
the  woolen  industry  concentration  began  a  decade  later  in 
the  period,  1850-1860. 

Cotton  Factories  in  the  United  States 

Year  Number  Capital  Invested  Employees  Value  of  Products 

1831  800  $41,000,000  62,000 

1840  1,240  51,000,000  72,000 

1850  1,074  76,000,000  9S,OOO 

Woolen  Factories  in  the  United  States 

1840  1,420  $16,000,000  21,342  $21,000,000 
1850  1,675  32,000,000  45,438  49,000,000 
1860  i,475  39,000,000  50,419  73,500,000 

In  the  era  preceding  1837  the  factory  system,  while  producing 
only  a  small  fraction  of  the  total  manufactured  products  of  the 
nation,  assumed  respectable  proportions.  The  two  decades 
from  1837  to  1857  were  years  of  continual  development.  The 
era  of  the  Civil  War  gave  a  great  impetus  to  industrial  activity. 


THE  PRE-CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD  27 

Statistics  of  early  manufacture  are  not  accurate;  but  the 
selected  data  which  follows,  taken  from  a  variety  of  sources,  is 
sufficiently  accurate  to  prove  that  factories  and  factory  work 
were  of  no  little  industrial  importance  in  this  nation  before 
the  panic  of  1857. 

In  1831  it  was  estimated  that  not  less  than  29,000  men  were 
employed  in  iron  manufacture;  the  estimated  wages  of  whom 
were  $8,776,000.  The  quantity  of  bar  iron  produced  in  1831 
was  about  four  times  that  produced  in  1810.  The  total  quan- 
tity of  iron  made  in  the  United  States  in  1830  was  estimated  to 
be  191,500  tons,  —  two-fifths  of  which  was  produced  in  the 
state  of  Pennsylvania.  In  1829  there  were  over  forty  furnaces 
and  eighty  forges  and  rolling  mills  in  that  commonwealth.  Ac- 
cording to  the  state  census,  the  state  of  New  York  possessed,  in 
1835,  112  cotton  factories,  234  woolen  factories,  293  iron  works 
of  various  sorts,  70  paper  mills,  13  glass  factories,  and  63  rope 
manufactories.  The  cotton  mills  employed  12,954  individuals, 
and  produced  upwards  of  21,000,000  yards  of  cloth. 

There  were  located  in  Cincinnati,  in  the  year  1830,  10  foun- 
dries, 3  or  4  cotton  factories,  15  rolling  mills,  several  steam 
manufactories,  5  breweries,  i  button  factory,  i  steam  coopering 
establishment,  2  steam  flour  mills,  and  5  or  6  steam  saw-mills. 
At  least  40  establishments  were  using  steam  power.  The  pop- 
ulation of  the  city  was  about  25,000.  As  early  as  1812,  50 
cotton  factories  were  located  within  a  radius  of  thirty  miles  of 
Providence.  Twenty  years  later  100  steam  engines  were  made 
in  Pittsburg.  In  1832  the  estimated  value  of  the  output  of 
the  paper  mills  of  the  United  States  was  $7,000,000  per  annum. 

The  Rise  of  Industrial  Cities.  The  modern  industrial  city 
is  a  product  of  the  factory  system.  Parallel  with  the  develop- 
ment in  manufacture  moved  the  evolution  of  modern  urban  life 
with  its  many  problems  which  are  due  to  the  dense  popula- 
tion, the  housing  conditions,  and  the  factory  environment. 
During  the  era  of  expansion  in  the  development  of  the  factory 


28     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

system  the  industrial  or  mill  town  of  the  modern  type  makes  its 
first  appearance;  and  the  percentage  of  the  total  population 
living  in  cities  increases.  When  the  period  of  concentration  is 
reached,  the  ratio  of  urban  to  the  total  population  mounts 
rapidly  upwards.  The  following  table  taken  from  the  Reports 
of  the  Twelfth  Census  shows  this  movement  very  clearly: 


Per  cent. 

of  Total  Population  in  Cities 

of  8000  or  Over 

Census  Years 

Number  of  Cities 

Per  cent.    Urban  of  Total 

1790 

6 

3-4 

1800 

6 

4.0 

1810 

ii 

4.9 

1820 

13 

4.9 

1830 

26 

5-7 

1840 

44 

8-5 

1850 

85 

12.5 

1860 

141 

16.1 

1870 

226 

20.9 

1880 

286 

22.6 

1890 

447 

29.2 

1900 

545 

33-1 

1910 

— 

— 

The  movement  towards  the  city  begins  to  be  very  perceptible 
in  the  decade  1820-1830;  and  this  period  marks  the  definite  and 
unmistakable  opening  of  the  era  of  expansion  in  the  textile 
industry.  This  phenomenon  was  in  a  large  measure  confined 
to  the  North  Atlantic  states;  and  was  the  most  well  defined  in 
Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  York,  and 
Pennsylvania.  Exclusive  of  Maine  and,  perhaps,  Vermont, 
the  population  of  New  England  almost  ceased  to  grow  by 
1816.  The  farming  land  had  nearly  all  been  occupied,  and 
the  surplus  population  was  emigrating  to  other  states.  The 
rise  of  the  new  system  of  manufacture  and  the  recovery  from 
the  depression  following  the  War  of  1812  saved  New  England 
from  stagnation. 

A  brief  reference  to  the  growth  of  urban  population  in  the 
manufacturing  sections  of  the  country  during  the  three  decades 


THE  PRE-CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD  29 

immediately  preceding  1850  will  aid  the  student  when  consid- 
eration is  given  to  the  humanitarian  and  labor  movements  of 
the  same  epochs.  The  population  of  Massachusetts  increased 
during  the  two  decades,  1800-1820,  nearly  24  per  cent.;  during 
1820-1840,  over  40  per  cent.;  during  1830-1850,  nearly  60 
per  cent.;  but  during  the  same  periods  the  increase  in  the 
population  of  the  city  of  Boston  was  approximately  73,115, 
and  123  per  cent.,  respectively.  Lowell,  which  had  no  exist- 
ence in  1820,  boasted  of  a  population  of  over  20,000  hi  1840; 
New  Bedford  increased  from  3,947  to  12,087  during  the  same 
space  of  time.  "Lowell  is  a  mere  manufacturing  village,  and 
no  place,  we  believe,  has  ever  increased  from  manufactures 
alone,  with  greater  rapidity,  or,  with  the  same  population,  has 
had  an  equal  number  of  operatives.  In  1830  its  population 
was  6,500,  and  in  December,  1833,  it  was  estimated  at  15,000; 
and  more  than  one-third  of  these  were  employed  in  cotton 
establishments."  *  In  1790  less  than  one-twentieth  part  of 
the  total  population  of  Massachusetts  lived  within  the  limits 
of  the  city  of  Boston;  in  1820  about  one-twelfth  part  and  in 
1840  about  one-eighth  part  were  inhabitants  of  that  city. 
"Within  ten  miles  of  Boston  there  is  now  (1846)  one-quarter 
part  of  the  population  of  the  state,  amounting  to  more  than 
200,000,  chiefly  dependent  upon  Boston  as  the  center  of  busi- 
ness; in  1790  the  number  was  less  than  a  ninth  part  of  the 
whole."  2  Chickering  shows  that  213  towns,  chiefly  agricul- 
tural, situated  in  Massachusetts,  increased  only  8.5  per  cent, 
from  1820  to  1840,  while  88  manufacturing  towns  increased 
79.62  per  cent.  During  the  score  of  years  from  1820  to  1840 
the  population  of  Rhode  Island  increased  approximately 
31  per  cent.,  that  of  the  city  of  Providence  nearly  100  per  cent.; 
in  New  York  State  the  increase  was  nearly  77  per  cent.,  while 
in  the  city  of  New  York  the  percentage  was  about  153  per 

1  Pitkin,  A  Statistical  View  of  the  Commerce  of  the  United  States.  P.  523.  (1835.) 
1  Chickering,  On  Population  and  Immigration.    P.  109. 


30     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

cent.;  in  Pennsylvania  the  increase  was  over  64  per  cent., 
and  that  of  Philadelphia  over  72  per  cent. 

As  people  long  accustomed  to  rural  life  were  suddenly  thrust 
into  barrack-like  homes  in  dreary  mushroom  factory  towns,  the 
now  familiar  evils  of  city  life  began  to  make  their  first  appearance 
upon  American  soil.  Pauperism,  juvenile  crime,  woman  and 
child  labor  in  factories  became  well  known.  Massed  together 
in  the  growing  cities  and  towns,  opportunities  were  not  lacking 
for  organization  and  agitation.  The  long  struggle  between  the 
conservatives  of  the  Atlantic  coast  region  and  the  turbulent  and 
individualistic  frontiersmen  of  the  uplands  and  the  backwoods 
had  finally  forced  the  abolition  in  most  of  the  Northern  States 
of  the  old  religious  and  property  qualifications  for  the  exercise 
of  the  suffrage.  At  a  propitious  time  the  democratic  frontiers- 
man placed  the  ballot  in  the  hands  of  the  newly  created  class  of 
factory  and  town  wage  earners;  and  then  the  American  wage 
earner  appeared  on  the  industrial  and  political  horizon. 

Labor  Organizations.  Modern  trade  unionism  was  practi- 
cally non-existent  previous  to  1825.  Certain  rudimentary 
organizations  are  found,  but  these  were  purely  local,  ephemeral, 
and  confined  to  members  of  one  trade.  The  early  isolated 
organizations  were  called  trade  societies.  "  Modern  trade- 
unionism  as  an  industrial  and  political  force, "  writes  Professor 
Commons,  "  began  with  the  coming  together  of  previously 
existing  societies  from  several  trades  to  form  a  central  body 
on  the  representative  principle."  These  were  called  trades' 
unions,  not  trade  unions.  To  the  then  largest  city  of  the  United 
States,  Philadelphia,  and  not  to  England,  as  commonly  stated 
belongs  the  honor  of  being  the  birthplace  of  the  modern  trades' 
union,  —  that  is,  a  union  or  association  of  trade  unions  or  labor 
societies.  The  Mechanics'  Union  of  Trade  Associations  was 
organized  in  that  city  in  1827,  and  antedates  by  two  years  the 
first  similar  organization  in  England. 

During  the  succeeding  ten  years  three  forms  of  labor  organi- 


THE  PRE-CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD  31 

zations  may  be  noticed:  (i)  The  trades'  unions  in  different 
towns  and  cities.  (2)  The  first  form  went  into  politics  (1827- 
1831),  and  formed  workingmen's  parties  in  various  cities. 
(3)  After  the  close  of  the  rocket-like  career  of  the  workingmen's 
parties,  events  moved  slowly  for  a  few  years.  Then,  with  the 
era  of  swiftly  rising  prices  which  preceded  the  panic  of  1837, 
came  the  rapid  growth  of  trades'  unions  and  the  organization  of 
several  national  trade  unions  and  of  the  National  Trades' 
Union,  which  held  three  annual  meetings  in  1834, 1835,  and  1836, 
and  possibly  one  more  in  1837.  Practically  nothing  was  known 
of  this  early  ephemeral,  but  pretentious,  national  organization, 
until  its  history  was  laid  bare  as  the  result  of  the  labors  of 
Professor  John  R.  Commons. 

The  inception  of  the  first  American  labor  movement  was  the 
natural  or  rather  inevitable,  though  direct,  result  of  the  aggre- 
gation of  workers  in  towns  arid  in  factories,  and  of  the  partial 
displacement  of  the  domestic  form  of  industrial  organization 
by  the  factory  and  the  contract  system.  The  factory  workers  ,- 
were  not,  however,  the  first  organized;  the  first  organizations 
were  formed  in  the  skilled  trades.  The  growth  of  towns  and 
the  gradual  improvement  of  transportation  facilities  were 
extending  the  market  area;  and  wealthy  merchants  were 
sending  their  wares  to  distant  points.  The  men  in  the 
skilled  trades  were  confronted  by  a  new  situation.  City  life 
and  the  steadily  developing  division  of  labor  were  modifying 
social  conditions,  were  exaggerating  and  exposing  to  public 
gaze  old  evils  such  as  pauperism,  intemperance,  and  juvenile 
crime,  and  were  producing  evils  hitherto  unknown.  Class 
demarcation  was  becoming  sharper,  and  the  workingmen  were 
in  a  state  of  dissatisfaction  and  unrest.  Leaders  only  were 
needed  to  convert  this  unrest  into  organized  remedial  effort. 
The  workingmen  were  firmly  convinced  that  social  and 
industrial  conditions  were  awry;  and  every  enthusiastic  and 
persuasive  would-be  reformer  was  able  to  obtain  a  hearing 


32      HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

and  a  following.  This  transitory  period  provided  the  properly 
prepared  ground  for  the  fitful  and  changeful  policies  which 
characterized  its  many  reform  movements.  The  student  of 
mob  or  crowd  psychology  may  find  in  this  period  a  fruitful 
field  for  study.  The  workers  passed  from  the  trades'  union 
to  the  political  party  in  a  vain  endeavor  to  mitigate  the  evils 
which  loomed  up  before  them.  The  frontier  forced  down  the 
bars  which  had  kept  the  small  and  non-taxpayer  from  the 
ballot  box;  the  workmen  under  the  impulse  of  their  leaders 
turned  to  political  action.  They  demanded  free  schools,  no 
imprisonment  for  debt,  mechanics'  lien  laws,  and  a  ten-hour 
day;  and  they  opposed  special  favors  in  the  granting  of  charters 
and  monopolies,  the  lottery  system,  the  militia  system  as  then 
in  vogue,  the  auction  system,  and  the  exemption  of  church 
property  from  taxation. 

The  first  workingmen's  party  appeared  in  Philadelphia  in 
1827  or  1828;  but  the  most  important  political  movement 
occurred  in  New  York  City.  The  New  York  party  was  organ- 
ized in  the  spring  of  1829,  elected  a  state  assemblyman  in  the  fall, 
was  split  into  three  fragments  within  a  few  months,  put  three 
tickets  in  the  field  in  the  fall  of  1830,  and  disappeared  from  view 
the  following  spring.  The  party,  organized  ostensibly  to  prevent 
an  attempt  to  lengthen  the  working  day,  was  first  committed  by 
an  imperious  leader  to  the  doctrine  of  equal  distribution  of 
wealth  and  the  abolition  of  inheritance;  this  leader  was  soon 
ousted,  carrying  with  him  only  a  handful  of  followers.  Next 
came  Robert  Dale  Owen  and  G.  H.  Evans;  the  latter  was  the 
editor  of  the  famous  labor  paper,  The  Working  Man's  Advocate. 
These  two  enthusiasts  committed  the  party  to  an  educational 
program.  Free  education  in  boarding  schools,  where  all  dis- 
tinctions of  rank  or  class  were  to  be  eliminated,  was  put  forward 
as  a  panacea  for  all  the  evils  of  which  the  workers  complained. 
Tammany  Hall  was  then,  as  now,  the  powerful  democratic 
organization  of  that  city.  The  leaders  of  that  political  machine 


THE  PRE-CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD  33 

were  thoroughly  frightened  by  the  results  of  the  election  of  1829; 
and  proceeded  to  destroy  the  workingmen's  organization.  So 
successful  were  they  that  within  a  few  months  Owen  and  Evans 
were  forced  out,  carrying  with  them  a  considerable  fraction  of 
the  entire  party.  Tammany  now  took  up  some  of  the  planks 
in  the  platform  of  the  conservative  and  most  numerous  branch 
of  the  party;  and  in  1831  the  entire  organization  disappeared  in 
thin  air.  The  first  American  labor  movement  was  disrupted  by 
entering  the  political  arena. 

This  ephemeral  labor  party  was  not  entirely  useless.  The 
chief  effects  may  be  briefly  summarized  as  follows:  (a)  the 
passage  of  a  mechanics'  lien  law  by  the  New  York  legislature. 
It  was  clearly  for  the  purpose  of  placating  the  workingmen  that 
this  measure  was  supported  and  pushed  through  by  Tammany. 
(b)  The  abolition  of  imprisonment  for  debt,  by  a  law  passed  in 
the  spring  of  1831.  The  stand  taken  by  the  workingmen's 
party  clearly  hastened  legislative  action  in  this  matter,  (c) 
The  appropriations  for  educational  purposes  in  New  York  City 
increased  very  visibly  at  this  time,  (d)  When,  in  1833-1837,  the 
strong  trade-union  moveme"nt  arose,  the  fate  of  the  working- 
men's  party  was  accepted  as  a  conclusive  argument  against 
direct  political  effort.  Hence  the  trade  unions  kept  aloof  from 
party  politics  and  merely  questioned  candidates  as  to  then- 
position  on  measures  which  were  regarded  as  affecting  the 
interests  of  labor.1 

After  the  disruption  of  the  workingmen's  parties,  a  period  of 
inaction  followed.  But  with  the  triumph  of  Jackson  over  the 
second  United  States  Bank  came  a  flood  of  paper  money  issued 
by  the  rejuvenated  state  or  "wild  cat"  banks.  With  the  in- 
flation of  the  currency,  prices  went  up  by  leaps  and  bounds; 
but  wages  lagged  behind.  The  wage  earners  were  caught  like 
rats  in  a  trap ;  the  rise  of  prices  was  so  rapid  that  escape  to  the 

1  Carlton,  "The  Workingmen's  Party  of  New  York,"  Political  Science 
Quarterly.  Vol.  22:  415. 


34     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

frontier  was  impracticable.  Wheat  flour  rose  in  New  York 
City  from  $5  a  barrel  in  1834  to  $12  in  March,  1837;  in  Balti- 
more from  $6.75  on  June  4,  1836,  to  $10.50  on  December  17  of 
the  same  year.  Edward  Atkinson  estimated  that  the  cost  of 
living  to  the  average  workingman  rose  66  per  cent,  from  April, 
1834,  to  October,  1836.  Organization  and  strikes  were  the  only 
available  remedies.  In  1835  a  New  York  daily  newspaper 
observed  that  " strikes  were  all  the  fashion."  The  membership 
of  the  trades'  unions  multiplied  until  the  ratio  of  organized  to 
unorganized  wage  earners  in  some  cities  was  as  high  or  higher 
than  at  the  present  time.  "Dues  were  increased  and  donations 
added  to  dues.  Finally,  the  ominous  sign  of  over-organization 
appeared.  Jurisdictional  struggles  began.  Blacksmiths  pro- 
tested against  horse-shoers,  and  hand-loom  weavers  against 
factory  weavers.  These  were  not  settled  when  the  panic  of 
1837  stopped  everything,  and  the  trades'  unions  disappeared 
when  the  wage  earners'  employment  ceased."  The  labor 
movement  of  this  period  of  rising  prices  was  premature.  Finan- 
cial conditions,  not  industrial  evolution,  were  responsible  for 
the  rocket-like  rise  of  the  labor  organizations  at  this  time. 

The  period  1834-1837  was  one  of  extraordinary  trade-union 
activity.  General  Trades'  Unions  were  formed  in  the  large 
cities.  New  York  and  Philadelphia  had  strong  organizations. 
A  contemporary  newspaper  states  that  the  Trades'  Union  of 
Philadelphia  consisted  in  1836  "of  forty-eight  trade  societies  or 
associations,  sovereign  and  independent  in  themselves,  but 
bound  by  ties  of  honor  and  interest  to  support  and  assist  each 
other  in  cases  of  aggression  or  danger."  Two  of  these  societies 
boasted  of  a  membership  of  over  nine  hundred  each,  and  four  of 
more  than  seven  hundred  each.  Among  the  trade  unions  or 
labor  societies  belonging  to  the  Trades'  Union  were  the  Society 
of  Journeymen  Tailors,  the  Society  of  Cordwainers,  the  Jour- 
neymen Printers,  the  Society  of  Journeymen  Hatters,  and  the 
Society  of  Cotton  Spinners.  A  "  Society  of  Female  Operatives," 


THE  PRE-CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD  35 

having  a  membership  of  about  four  hundred,  is  also  reported 
from  Philadelphia.  This  organization  was  similar  to  other 
trade  societies.  The  Boston  Trades'  Union,  on  July  4,  1834, 
had  two  thousand  men  in  a  procession.  The  printers  organized 
societies  in  not  less  than  twenty-four  cities  in  the  decade  of  the 
thirties.  Catalogs  of  "rats"  or  non-union  men  are  reported  to 
have  been  occasionally  published  by  the  organized  printers; 
and  picketing  was  not  unknown.  In  1836  the  New  York  Gen- 
eral Trades'  Union  complained  that  the  Employing  Leather 
Dressers  had  declared  for  wThat  we  now  call  the  "open  shop," 
and  were  refusing  to  hire  men  belonging  to  a  labor  organization. 
This  was  denounced  as  "an  attempted  violation  of  the  consti- 
tutional and  natural  rights  of  American  citizens."  Many  of  the 
methods  used  today  by  organized  labor  were  employed  by  the 
ephemeral  and  premature  unions  of  the  thirties. 

Employers'  associations  were  formed  to  counteract  the  power 
of  these  newly  organized  unions.  In  New  York  City  the  cur- 
riers and  leather  dealers  and  the  employing  leather  dressers 
were  knit  into  employers'  associatipns.  Members  of  these 
associations  inveighed  against  labor  organizations  in  a  manner 
quite  up  to  date.  The  unions  were  held  to  "invade  the  rights 
of  employers"  and  to  "compromise  the  rights  of  unorganized 
labor."  "if  we  desire  to  alter  the  whole  genius  of  American 
society,  —  to  resolve  it  into  classes  separated  by  barriers  almost 
impassable,  and  to  condemn  the  largest  portion  to  lasting  inferi- 
ority—  we  should  certainly  recommend  some  such  expedient 
as  trade  unions."  These  words  sound  as  if  they  were  written 
only  yesterday  by  a  member  of  an  employers'  association 
hostile  to  organized  labor. 

The  following  analysis  of  the  forces  which  caused  this  remark- 
able outburst  of  activity  on  the  part  of  labor  organizations  is 
from  the  pen  of  Professor  Commons.  "But  it  was  not  the  cost 
of  living  that  first  demanded  attention  —  it  was  the  hours  of 
labor  and  over-work.  The  feverish  prosperity  of  bank  inflation 


36     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

and  the  taste  of  unusual  profits  enticed  employers  to  drive  their 
workmen ;  and  the  long  hours  of  labor  which  were  welcomed  as 
a  boon  in  a  time  of  depression  became  unbearable  in  time  of 
prosperity.  .  .  .  The  struggle  centered  in  Philadelphia,  where 
the  trades'  union  entered  upon  a  career  of  success  and  enthusi- 
asm. It  had  the  support  of  physicians,  lawyers,  merchants, 
and  politicians,  and  the  year  1835  is  memorable  as  the  turning 
point  from  which  dated  the  establishment  in  this  country  of  the 
ten-hour  system." x  The  strikes  of  1836  were  chiefly  for 
higher  wages  and  were  the  direct  result  of  rising  prices. 

The  pioneer  national  organization  of  wage  earners  on  Ameri- 
can soil  was  the  National  Trades'  Union  which  first  met  in  the 
city  of  New  York  in  August,  1834.  At  this  time  it  was  esti- 
mated that  there  were  26,250  members  of  American  trades' 
unions. 

In  New  York  and  Brooklyn  . .  11,500  In  Baltimore 3)5°o 

Philadelphia 6,000  Washington   500 

Boston 4,000  Newark 750 

At  the  first  convention  about  thirty  delegates  were  present. 
The  second  convention  also  met  in 'New  York  City,  and  was 
attended  by  forty-eight  delegates.  The  third  convention  met 
in  1836  in  Philadelphia.  A  fourth  convention  was  called  to  meet 
in  1837 ;  and  it  is  probable  that  a  few  delegates  attended.  With 
the  panic,  the  national  organization  passed  out  of  existence. 
The  National  Trades'  Union  was  a  union  of  local  unions  and  of 
the  central  trades'  unions  in  different  cities.  It  began  merely 
as  an  advisory  body  with  no  disciplinary  powers;  but  in  1836  the 
constitution  of  the  body  was  so  changed  as  to  allow  it  to  exer- 
cise some  authority  over  the  bodies  united  in  the  national 
organization. 

The  constitution  of  1834  stated  that  the  objects  of  the  Union 
were  to  advance  the  moral,  intellectual,  and  pecuniary  interests 
of  the  workers,  to  disseminate  information,  to  promote  the 

1  Documentary  History  of  American  Industrial  Society.    Vol.  5  :  33-34. 


THE  PRE-CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD  37 

establishment  of  trades'  unions,  and  to  harmonize  the  efforts 
of  the  productive  classes.  In  1835  provisions  were  inserted 
requiring  each  subordinate  union  to  contribute,  to  the  national 
body,  two  cents  per  month  per  member.  Another  clause  de- 
clared all  acts  of  the  national  body  binding  upon  the  various 
unions  accepting  the  constitution.  "In  1834  it  had  been  a  con- 
vention to  promote  agitation,  in  1836  it  had  become  a  federation 
to  support  strikes."  The  extreme  pressure  of  rapidly  rising 
prices  caused  a  rapid  evolution  of  function.  In  1834  resolu- 
tions were  adopted  favoring  "an  Equal,  Universal,  Republican 
system  of  Education,"  demanding  that  the  public  lands  be  left 
open  to  actual  settlers,  deploring  the  evil  condition  of  "male 
and  female  children  employed  in  the  cotton  and  woolen  manu- 
factories in  this  country,"  and  opposing  special  privileges  for  a 
"favored  few."  In  the  convention  of  1836  the  following  com- 
mittees were  appointed:  trades'  union,  education,  state 
prison  labor,  factory  system,  female  labor,  and  on  unfinished 
business.  The  titles  of  these  committees  are  significant  as 
indicating  the  topics  considered  to  be  of  great  importance  to  the 
wage  earners  in  1836.  A  committee  was  also  appointed  on  the 
ten-hour  system  on  government  works.  This  committee  in  a 
long  report  declared  that  the  memorials  of  the  ten-hour  com- 
mittee appointed  in  1835  were  treated  contemptuously  by 
Congress.  It  closed  by  recommending  united  action  on  the 
part  of  all  trades'  unions  in  requesting  the  President  of  the 
United  States  to  establish  a  ten-hour  day  for  all  government 
employees.  In  1840  President  Van  Buren  issued  such  an  order. 
In  1836  at  least  five  trades  had  formed  national  trade 
unions,  —  that  is,  formed  national  organizations  within  a 
single  trade.  These  trades  were  the  cordwainers,  the  comb- 
makers,  the  carpenters,  the  weavers,  and  the  printers.  Other 
organizations  recognized  the  desirability  of  national  organiza- 
tion. The  printers  held  at  least  two  annual  meetings,  in  1836 
and  1837. 


38      HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

The  National  Trades'  Union  and  the  national  trade  unions 
of  the  thirties  were  national  unions  at  least  three  decades  ahead 
of  their  time.  The  railway  and  the  telegraph  had  not  yet 
extended  the  market  area.  Competition  over  wide  areas  was  as 
yet  little  felt.  Only  the  extraordinary  increase  in  the  cost  of 
living  in  the  years  immediately  preceding  the  panic  of  1837 
could  bring  into  life  even  an  ephemeral  national  organization. 
As  soon  as  that  pressure  was  removed  the  national  organizations 
disappeared  and  were  soon  forgotten. 

Much  antagonism  between  employers  and  employees  and 
between  the  rich  and  the  poor  was  generated  during  this 
extraordinary  epoch.  A  class  consciousness  which  is  scarcely 
exceeded  in  recent  decades  flashed  into  view  during  this  spec- 
tacular struggle  for  higher  wages.  In  one  address  to  a  labor 
society  in  1835  is  found  the  following  gem:  " Already  has  grasp- 
ing avarice  and  monopoly  shorn  us  of  many  of  our  rights,  already 
has  aristocracy  reared  its  hideous  form  in  our  country,  and  is 
making  rapid  strides  toward  enslaving  us  forever."  The  Work- 
ing Man's  Advocate  had  as  one  of  its  aims  opposition  to  monop- 
olies and  all  class  exemptions.  The  associations  of  employers 
of  the  thirties  were  practically  as  bitter  toward  trade  unions  as 
any  that  exist  today.  For  example,  one  resolved  that  the  meth- 
ods of  the  unionists  were  "most  obnoxious,  coercive,  and 
detrimental  to  the  peace,  prosperity,  and  best  interests  of  the 
community."  Another  resolved  "that  the  Trades'  Union  is 
the  growth  of  Monarchical  Government,  and  ill  adapted  to 
our  Republican  Institutions." 

The  labor  press  was  a  very  important  element  in  the  labor 
movement  of  this  period.  The  American  Bureau  of  Industrial 
Research  has  found  that  at  least  sixty-eight  labor  papers  were 
started  or  projected  in  the  period  1820-1837.  These  papers  were 
published  in  many  different  cities  and  towns  scattered  over  the 
North,  such  as  New  York;  Philadelphia;  Boston;  Woodstock, 
Vermont;  Wilmington,  Delaware;  Alexander,  New  York,  and 


THE  PRE-CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD  39 

Indianapolis,  Indiana.  In  January,  1828,  in  the  city  of  Phila- 
delphia, was  published  the  first  workingmen's  paper,  The 
Mechanics'  Free  Press.  The  Working  Man's  Advocate,  the 
New  York  publication,  issued  its  first  number  on  October  31, 
1829. 

A  short  period  of  rising  prices  dates  from  1843.  A  few  "  spo- 
radic" unions  were  called  into  existence,  and  here  and  there 
minor  strikes  occurred.  For  the  first  time  in  American  history 
the  factory  and  the  factory  operative  began  to  figure  in  labor 
disputes.  Soon,  however,  the  level  of  prices  began  to  move 
downward,  and  labor  agitations  and  organization  assumed 
modified  forms.  From  about  1845  to  I^5i  purely  trade-union 
methods  were  rarely  employed;  and  the  doctrine  of  class  har- 
mony was  persistently  preached.  The  main  points  in  the  labor 
demands  were  not  wages  and  hours.  The  humanitarian  element 
was  in  control;  labor  unionism  and  humanitarianism  were 
curiously  mixed.  Various  Labor  Congresses  and  Working- 
men's  Associations  were  formed;  and  many  organizations  of 
women  workers  came  into  being.  Certain  humanitarian  leaders 
like  Horace  Greeley,  Brisbane,  Dana,  and  Ripley,  who  were  not 
of  the  wage-earning  class,  were  prominent  in  the  various  organi- 
zations. The  New  England  Workingmen's  Association  was 
organized  in  the  spring  of  1845.  Its  object  was  declared  to  be 
"union  for  power,  power  to  bless  humanity."  In  New  York 
the  National  Reform  Association  was  formed  in  1844.  This 
body  wished  to  restore  man  to  his  "natural  right  to  land."  The 
first  Industrial  Congress  convened  in  New  York  City,  October 
12,  1845.  George  H.  Evans,  editor  of  The  Working  Man's 
Advocate  of  the  early  thirties,  and  then  joint  editor  of  another 
paper  of  the  same  name,  was  secretary.  The  Female  Labor 
Reform  Association  of  Lowell  sent  a  representative.  The 
Congress  recommended  the  formation  of  three  organizations: 
(i)  Of  "pure  labor,"  to  be  called  the  "Industrial  Brotherhood." 
No  employers,  overseers,  or  superintendents  were  to  be  admitted 


40     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

to  membership.  Farmers  were  to  be  eligible.  (2)  "Young 
America,"  all  friends  of  the  "just"  rights  of  labor  might  join. 
(3)  The  "Industrial  Sisterhood"  was  to  include  all  females 
who  desired  to  unite  in  "the  righteous  cause."  Commenting 
on  the  work  of  this  Congress,  Greeley  said  that  a  true  Indus- 
trial Congress  represented  all  classes.  A  second  congress  was 
held  in  1847,  anci  a  third  in  1850. 

Many  workingmen's  local  associations  of  this  period  estab- 
lished libraries  and  reading  rooms.  In  Massachusetts  the 
agitation  for  a  ten-hour  working  day  began  in  1845,  and  con- 
tinued until  1852,  when  a  compromise  of  sixty-six  hours  per 
week  was  effected.  Much  attention  was  paid  to  the  subject  of 
"land  monopoly"  by  various  associations  and  congresses.  The 
Working  Man's  Advocate  of  this  period,  instead  of  urging  free 
public  education,  demanded  that  each  man  or  woman  be  allowed 
to  purchase  in  the  future  only  a  sufficient  amount  of  land  "for 
a  reasonable  sized  farm."  Land  monopoly,  based  upon  educa- 
tional privileges,  was  held  to  be  the  fundamental  cause  of  the 
evils  of  which  the  workingmen  complained.  The  movement 
which  finally  culminated  in  the  Homestead  Act  dates  back  to 
this  period.  There  were  few  indications  in  the  "golden  era" 
(1837-1857)  in  American  industrial  history  of  the  existence  of 
class  consciousness,  or  of  the  idea  of  the  solidarity  of  the  wage 
earners,  —  much  less  than  in  the  period  1834  to  1837.  In  the 
decade  of  the  fifties,  however,  indications  are  not  lacking  of  the 
divorce  of  unionism  from  humanitarianism.  "Pure  and  simple  " 
trade  unionism  began  to  appear.  A  magazine  in  1853  stated: 
"Since  our  last,  the  expenses  of  living  have  been  somewhat  in- 
creased at  nearly  every  point.  The  prices  of  sundry  articles  of 
general  consumption  have,  it  is  true,  been  somewhat  reduced, 
but  most  other  avenues  of  expenditures  have  been  widened. 
Labor  of  all  kinds  demands  higher  rewards,  and  in  almost  every 
branch  of  industry,  organization,  combinations,  and  in  some 
cases  'strikes,'  have  been  resorted  to  in  order  to  obtain  the 


THE  PRE-CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD  41 

•  desired  advance."  l  In  the  autumn  of  1853  an  attempt  was 
made  to  federate  the  unions  of  New  York  City.  Only  working- 
men  were  entitled  to  act  as  delegates  to  the  central  body. 

All  the  labor  movements  of  the  pre-Civil  War  period  were 
ephemeral  and  soon  disintegrated.  The  chief  reason  for  the  lack 
of  permanence  may  be  summarized  under  five  heads:  (a)  A 
strong  and  permanent  labor  organization  is  not  to  be  anticipated 
while  much  practically  free  land  can  be  obtained,  and  while  it 
is  possible  for  the  efficient  and  ambitious  employee  to  pass 
readily  to  the  position  of  employer.  Under  such  conditions 
class  consciousness  and  the  feeling  of  solidarity  of  interest  among 
the  workers  do  not  readily  develop  to  a  sufficient  degree  to  insure 
strong  and  permanent  union  organizations,  (b)  The  attain- 
ment of  many  of  the  more  moderate  demands  of  the  labor  party 
and  labor  press,  such  as  a  mechanics'  lien  law,  abolition  of 
imprisonment  for  debt,  and  increased  taxation  for  the  public 
schools,  naturally  reduced  the  number  of  active  unionists  and 
diminished  the  ardor  of  those  remaining  in  the  organizations. 
(c)  Coupled  with  this  was  the  rising  tide  of  the  slavery  agitation, 
which  drew  the  attention  from  the  demands  of  the  workers  and 
absorbed  much  of  the  vigor  of  the  humanitarian  leaders.  (<t) 
The  stigma  of  infidelity  which  became  attached  to  the  working- 
men's  party  was  a  serious  handicap  to  that  form  of  labor  agi- 
tation, (e)  The  communistic  movement  was  also  an  important 
factor  in  weakening  and  dissipating  the  strength  of  the  various 
labor  organizations. 

Labor  and  Humanitarianism.  During  the  unique  and 
" yeasty"  period  from  1820  to  the  panic  of  1857,  in  which  fac- 
tories and  industrial  cities  were  developing  and  the  canal  and 
the  railway  were  becoming  valued  transportation  agents,  the 
labor  movement  was  only  one  of  several  movements  and  agita- 
tions. During  this  period  the  theory  of  protection  was  given 

1  Hunt's  Magazine,  April,  1853.  See  Documentary  History  of  American 
Industrial  Society.  Vol.  8:335. 


42      HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

practical  application  in  several  tariffs,  particularly  those  of  1828 
and  1832,  but  the  movement  toward  high  tariffs  was  checked  tem- 
porarily by  the  rising  tide  of  free  trade,  of  which  the  tariff  of 
1 846  is  a  result;  the  stream  of  immigration  broadened;  the  suffrage 
was  extended;  imprisonment  for  debt  was  practically  abolished; 
and  various  humanitarian  movements  of  a  permanent  or  an 
ephemeral  nature  appeared,  ranging  from  communism  to  free 
tax-supported  schools,  and  from  religious  revivals  and  temperance 
movements  to  the  abolition  movement  and  agitation  for  prison 
betterment.  In  this  era  the  West,  the  workingmen,  the  cities, 
and  the  manufacturing  interests  first  became  important  factors 
in  denning  the  political  and  economic  progress  of  the  nation. 

A  progressive  age,  an  epoch  in  which  the  new  is  grappling  in  a 
death  struggle  with  the  old,  is  ever  prolific  of  peculiar  and  fan- 
tastic movements,  creeds,  and  parties,  which  soon  die  out,  but 
which  usually  leave  some  lasting  imprint  upon  the  dominant 
characteristics  of  the  time.  These  movements  spring  up  and 
run  their  short  course  alongside  of  the  great  and  permanent 
advance  movements  of  the  age.  This  period  of  thirty  or  forty 
years  is  characterized  by  wide-spread  agitation  for  social  better- 
ment. Among  the  significant  forces  which  were  at  the  fountain- 
head  of  the  labor  and  other  movements  were  the  panics  of  1819 
and  1837,  the  gradual  introduction  of  labor-saving  devices,  the 
extension  of  the  market  area,  and  the  inherited  belief  in  the 
equality  of  men  and  in  the  right  of  all  to  liberty  and  the  pursuit 
of  happiness. 

Like  the  labor  movement  of  this  era,  the  various  concomitant 
humanitarian  agitations  may  be  separated  into  two  groups.  In 
the  decade  and  a  half  from  1825  to  1840  occur  agitations 
for  educational  advance,  prison  reform,  abolition  of  imprison- 
ment for  debt,  temperance  crusades,  organization  of  charitable 
societies,  and  the  communistic  movement  led  by  Robert  Owen. 
This  period  was  preeminently  a  practical  one ;  the  decade  of  the 
forties  was,  on  the  other  hand,  in  the  main  idealistic.  This 


THE  PRE-CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD  43 

characterization  fits  the  labor  movements  as  well  as  the  human- 
itarian movements  of  the  period.  The  decade  of  the  forties  has 
been  called  the  "hot  air"  period  and  an  era  of  " unbounded 
loquacity";  it  is  associated  with  Fourierism,  transcendentalism, 
abolitionism,  and  the  Brook  Farm  experiment.  The  labor 
movement  of  the  era  preceding  the  Civil  War  was  not  an  iso- 
lated phenomenon;  it  was  very  closely  related  to  other  agitations. 
The  working  people  were  also  important  factors  in  establishing 
our  free  school  system,  in  abolishing  the  practice  of  imprisoning 
debtors,  and  in  urging  land  reform. 

Men  are  prone  to  overestimate  the  economic  and  social  evils 
of  the  present  and  to  underestimate  those  of  eras  which  lie  behind 
the  civilization  of  today.  We  of  the  present  are  more  or  less 
familiar  with  the  vast  amount  of  suffering  and  criminality  which 
followed  the  severe  crises  of  1873,  I^93,  and  1907-1908;  but 
the  relative  amount  of  hardship  suffered  as  the  inevitable  conse- 
quence of  those  of  1819  and  1837  is  scarcely  less.  During  the 
period  of  depression  from  1816  to  1822  or  1826,  in  different  cities 
public-spirited  citizens  served  on  committees  to  relieve  distress, 
soup  houses  were  opened,  and  an  attempt  was  made  to  discover 
the  causes  of  pauperism.  The  old  superficial  explanation  that 
intemperance  was  the  source  of  the  evils  was  quite  readily 
and  generally  accepted.  Professor  McMaster  summarizes  the 
situation  as  viewed  by  the  investigators:  "A  careful  examina- 
tion of  the  reports  on  the  condition  of  the  poor  for  the  years 
past  (1808-1817)  revealed  the  alarming  fact  that  paupers  were 
increasing  more  rapidly  than  population.  Fifteen  thousand, 
or  one-seventh  of  the  population  of  the  city,  were  actually  living 
on  charity.  About  one-sixteenth  of  them  were  worthy  persons 
reduced  to  poverty  by  the  depressed  state  of  commerce.  Another 
sixteenth  were  paupers  from  a  variety  of  causes.  But  seven- 
eighths  were  people  reduced  to  poverty  by  the  inordinate  use  of 
liquor."  Nttes'  Register  is  the  authority  for  a  statement  that 
in  the  county  of  Chester,  located  in  a  rich  and  populous  section 


44     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

of  Pennsylvania,  the  number  of  paupers  increased  from  one  in 
every  345  inhabitants  in  1810  to  one  in  every  138  in  1820.  In 
Philadelphia  in  1820  the  ratio  between  paupers  and  the  total 
population  was  estimated  at  slightly  more  than  one  to  fifty.  In 
the  early  twenties  the  increase  of  juvenile  crime  and  in  the 
number  of  child  vagrants  attracted  much  attention,  and  was  a 
factor  in  causing  the  demand  for  free  schools. 

A  New  York  City  paper  published  in  1835  declared  that 
6,069  criminals  and  vagrants  were  committed  to  the  local  jails 
in  1833.  The  number  of  public  paupers  for  the  same  year  was 
24,326.  About  one-eighth  of  the  total  population  was  included 
in  the  three  classes.  The  amount  raised  by  taxation  for  the 
purpose  of  maintaining  this  publicly  supported  army  was  esti- 
mated to  be  about  $300,000. 

The  winter  of  1838  was  an  unusually  severe  one;  and  the 
effects  of  the  panic  were  such  as  to  cause  much  unemployment. 
"There  never  had  been  such  a  time  of  suffering  in  New  York 
before,  and  there  has  not  been  since. " l  Horace  Greeley  was 
a  faithful  worker  on  a  citizen's  committee  appointed  to  relieve 
the  suffering  of  the  poor  during  that  awful  winter.  His  experi- 
ence in  this  connection  produced  the  frame  of  mind  which  led 
to  his  adoption  of  the  principles  of  the  Utopian  French  socialist, 
Fourier.  In  1844  Parke  Godwin,  a  Fourierist  socialist,  painted 
a  pen  picture  of  the  contrast  between  the  luxurious  rich  and  the 
wretched  poor  of  the  cities,  which  greatly  resembles  the  contrast 
between  the  Fifth  Avenue  of  today  and  the  slums  of  any  great 
city  at  the  present  moment.  The  presence  of  vast  quantities 
of  unworked,  but  fertile,  land  did  not  insure  a  decent  living  for 
all.  The  working  people  drawn  into  the  cities  and  the  factory 
towns  saw  and  felt  the  pinch  of  poverty.  Contrasts  and  evils 
loomed  before  them;  and  with  the  child-like  faith  of  Utopia 
builders  they  looked  impatiently  for  a  panacea  for  the  ills  which 
afflicted  them. 

1  Written  in  1872. 


THE  PRE-CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD  45 

Imprisonment  for  debt  was  a  practice  which  fell  with  peculiar 
severity  upon  those  who  were  close  to  the  poverty  line,  that  is, 
upon  the  wage  earners.  In  1830  the  estimated  number  of 
individuals  imprisoned  for  debt  was,  in  Massachusetts,  3,000; 
in  New  York,  10,000;  in  Pennsylvania,  7,000;  and  in  Maryland, 
3,000.  At  that  time  the  practice  had  been  abolished  in  two 
states,  Ohio  and  Kentucky.  Persons  were  imprisoned  for 
small  as  well  as  for  large  debts;  for  debts  which  the  debtor  was 
unable  to  pay  as  well  as  for  debts  contracted  for  the  purpose  of 
defrauding  the  creditor.  In  one  city  forty  cases  were  recorded 
in  which  the  sum  total  of  the  debts  was  only  $23.40^,  an  aver- 
age of  less  than  sixty  cents  each.  In  some  states  the  debtor 
was  not  only  denied  the  right  to  an  opportunity  to  earn  wages 
in  order  to  pay  his  debts;  but  he  was  obliged,  if  he  was  an  honest 
debtor,  to  depend  upon  charity  for  the  necessities  of  life,  — 
food,  clothing,  and  fuel.  Local  humane  societies  often  kept 
debtors  from  freezing  or  starving.  A  criminal  was  given  greater 
consideration  in  regard  to  food  and  fuel  than  was  accorded  the 
imprisoned  debtor.  Nearly  all  the  resolutions  adopted  by  the 
numerous  mass  meetings  of  workingmen  held  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  decade  of  the  twenties  and  the  first  half  of  the  thirties 
contain  clauses  demanding  the  abolition  of  imprisonment  for 
debt.  The  labor  journals  of  that  period  were  uniformly  opposed 
to  the  practice.  The  ephemeral  labor  parties  made  imprison- 
ment for  debt  a  plank  in  their  platform.  Tammany  became 
interested  in  this  reform  as  soon  as  it  saw  the  necessity  of  getting 
the  labor  vote.  In  1831  an  act  was  passed  in  New  York,  abol- 
ishing imprisonment  for  debt  except  in  cases  of  fraud.  In  other 
Northern  states  the  workingmen  carried  on  an  active  agitation 
in  regard  to  this  matter.  By  1840  imprisonment  for  debt  had 
been  abolished  in  practically  every  Northern  state.  This 
reform  was  accomplished  by  means  of  the  steady,  effective 
pressure  of  the  newly  enfranchised  and  rapidly  growing  laboring 
class,  aided  and  led  by  the  humanitarian  element.  As  has  been 


46     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

stated,  the  mechanics'  lien  law,  which  made  the  wage  earner  a 
preferred  creditor  of  his  employer,  was  pushed  through  the 
New  York  legislature  in  order  to  gain  the  vote  of  the  work- 
ingmen.  This  legislation  soon  spread  to  other  states. 

The  Free  School  System  and  the  Wage  Earners.  The  first 
great  panacea  of  the  organized  wage  earners  was  free  and  equal 
education .  For  years  influential  and  learned  men  had  been 
preaching  the  doctrine  that  the  uneducated  must  ever  remain 
in  a  degraded  caste.  "  Equality  among  men  results  only  from 
education  " ;  "  the  educated  man  is  a  good  citizen,  the  uneducated 
an  undesirable  member  of  the  body  politic."  These  were  the 
oft-repeated  phrases  which  came  from  many  sources  to  the 
anxious  wage  earners.  Suddenly  the  disturbed  mass  of  toiling 
humanity  was  touched  by  the  monotonous  repetition.  Free, 
equal,  practical,  republican  education  became  the  shibboleth 
of  the  workers.  One  of  the  radical  resolutions  upon  this  topic 
was  adopted  at  a  meeting  of  workingmen  held  in  New  York 
City  in  November,  1829:  "Resolved,  that  the  most  grievous 
species  of  inequality  is  that  produced  by  inequality  in  education, 
and  that  a  national  system  of  education  and  guardianship  which 
shall  furnish  to  all  children  of  the  land,  equal  food,  clothing, 
and  instruction  at  the  public  expense  is  the  only  effectual  remedy 
for  this  and  for  almost  every  species  of  injustice.  Resolved, 
that  all  other  modes  of  reform  are,  compared  to  this  particular, 
inefficient  or  trifling. "  Practically  every  workingmen's  meeting, 
from  Albany  and  Boston  on  the  north  to  Wilmington  and 
Charleston  on  the  south,  took  up  the  cry.  Speeches,  editorials, 
and  resolutions  galore,  and  planks  in  local  workingmen's  party 
platforms,  are  recorded  of  the  period  from  1828  to  about  1833. 
Horace  Mann,  Henry  Barnard,  James  G.  Carter,  Robert  Dale 
Owen,  George  H.  Evans,  and  others  directed  the  movement; 
but  the  potent  push  came  from  the  firm  demand  of  an  aroused 
and  insistent  wage-earning  class  armed  with  the  ballot.  The 
rural  districts,  employers,  and  men  of  wealth  were  rarely  favor- 


THE  PRE-CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD  47 

able  to  the  tax-supported  school;  and  often  their  voices  were 
raised  against  it  in  bitter  protest  or  stinging  invective.  A 
careful  study  of  the  development  of  the  public  school  system 
in  different  states  —  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  Vermont, 
Rhode  Island,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Ohio  —  and 
the  utter  lack  of  a  free  school  system  in  the  slave-holding  South, 
confirm  these  general  statements.  The  wage  earners  were 
touched  with  the  enthusiasm  of  a  Utopian  dreamer.  Given  free 
and  universal  education,  and,  they  firmly  believed,  all  social 
ills  would  vanish  as  the  mists  before  the  morning  sun.  A  mis- 
taken idea  it  has  proven  to  be ;  but  it  was,  nevertheless,  potent 
and  compelling  in  that  formative  period  of  our  industrial 
history. 

The  direct  influence  of  the  wage  earners  in  the  establishment 
of  free  schools  is  perhaps  most  clearly  shown  in  Rhode  Island 
and  New  York.  In  that  small  and  unique  New  England  state, 
Rhode  Island,  before  1820,  it  was  held  that  to  compel  a  citizen 
to  educate  his  children  would  be  an  invasion  of  his  sacred  rights 
as  a  citizen  of  the  commonwealth.  The  sentiment  of  the  influ- 
ential class  was  distinctly  adverse  to  a  tax-supported  school 
system.  Rhode  Island  was  suddenly  transformed  from  an 
agricultural  and  commercial  to  a  predominately  manufacturing 
state.  A  bitter,  but  successful,  struggle  for  the  extension  of  the 
suffrage  followed;  and  within  a  decade  after  its  conclusion  the 
free  tax-supported  school  became  a  generally  accepted  institu- 
tion. The  workingman's  ballot  was  in  no  small  measure  re- 
sponsible for  this  sudden  and  complete  reversal  of  policy.  In 
New  York,  after  a  year's  experience  with  a  school  system  entirely 
supported  by  taxation,  the  legislature,  in  response  to  the  de- 
mands of  the  opponents  of  system,  submitted  the  question  of  a 
repeal  of  the  law  to  the  voters  of  the  state.  Only  seventeen 
out  of  a  total  of  fifty-nine  counties  voted  against  the  repeal  of 
the  law  and  for  the  free  school  system;  but  the  majority  in 
these  counties  was  so  large  that  the  repeal  was  defeated.  In 


48     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

the  seventeen  counties  were  located  the  more  important  cities 
of  the  state  —  including  New  York,  Brooklyn,  Albany,  Buffalo, 
Schenectady,  and  Syracuse.  The  voice  of  the  cities  and  of  the 
workingmen  was  unmistakably  in  favor  of  the  tax-supported 
school  system. 

Land  Reform  and  the  Wage  Earners.  After  the  panic  of  1837 
the  discontented  and  suffering  workers  pushed  another  pana- 
cea into  the  foreground.  Free  homesteads  for  actual  settlers, 
became  a  slogan.  If  each  head  of  a  family  is  given  the  right  to 
acquire  a  quarter  section  of  virgin  soil,  all  will  be  well.  Again, 
the  wage  earners  play  no  small  part  in  giving  the  nation  another 
important  piece  of  legislation  —  the  Homestead  Act.  Land 
reformers  —  humanitarians  —  blazed  the  way  toward  this  act; 
but  the  workingmen  of  the  cities  early  looked  with  favor  upon 
free  land  for  homesteads.  The  Working  Man's  Advocate  gives 
an  account  of  a  meeting  held  in  New  York  City  in  January, 
1845.  One  of  the  resolutions  adopted  declared  "that  in  our 
opinion  the  best  method  of  putting  an  end  to  Feudalism  and 
Land  Monopoly  in  this  State  would  be  for  the  Legislature  to 
pass  a  general  law  limiting  the  quantity  of  land"  which  one  per- 
son could  own.  Greeley  pointed  out  two  ways  in  which  the 
city  laborer  would  benefit:  (a)  Some  competitors  would  be 
drawn  to  new  lands,  thus  tending  to  raise  wages,  or  at  least  to 
prevent  lowering  the  rate  of  wages.  (6)  There  would  be  an 
increasing  demand  for  the  products  of  manufactories  and  work- 
shops, thus  increasing  the  demand  for  labor. 

Employers  of  labor  were  favorably  impressed  by  the  latter 
effect,  but  unfavorably  by  the  former.  Their  attitude  would 
largely  be  determined  by  the  relative  importance  of  the  two. 
After  the  potato  famine  in  Ireland  and  the  revolutionary  dis- 
turbances of  1848,  the  rapid  influx  of  immigrants  afforded  a 
supply  of  labor  which  would  not  be  seriously  drained  by  free 
homesteads.  The  gradual  development  of  the  factory  system 
and  the  expansion  of  the  railway  network  showed  the  need  of 


THE  PRE-CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD  49 

wide  markets  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  possibility  of  economi- 
cally reaching  distant  markets  on  the  other.  To  carve  farms  out 
of  the  virgin  Western  wilderness  meant  the  creation  of  a  demand 
for  the  products  of  factory  and  mine.  This  shifting  of  the 
economic  center  of  gravity  caused  many  of  the  manufacturers 
and  employers  of  labor  to  align  themselves  with  the  land  re- 
formers and  the  workingmen  in  demanding  the  rapid  extension 
of  the  small  farm  system  with  individual  ownership.  The 
South  with  its  plantation  system  and  its  slave  economy  stood 
as  a  mighty  obstacle.  The  platform  of  the  Republican  party 
in  1860  contained  a  plank  in  favor  of  "the  free  homestead 
policy";  and  when  the  Southern  Senators  and  Representatives 
left  the  halls  of  Congress  at  the  opening  of  the  Civil  War, 
the  famous  Homestead  Act  became  a  law. 

"The  Republican  party  ...  was  a  homestead  party.  On 
this  point  its  position  was  identical  with  that  of  the  working- 
men."1  A  study  of  the  vote  in  the  first  election  in  which  the 
Republican  party  was  a  factor  shows  clearly  that  it  flourished 
in  sections  where  industrial  progress  was  considerable.  Practi- 
cally all  the  counties  on  the  line  of  the  Erie  Canal  and  the  south- 
ern shore  of  Lake  Erie  went  Republican  in  the  election  of  1856. 
The  important  exceptions  were  Erie  County,  in  which  Buffalo 
is  located,  and  three  counties  in  Ohio  bordering  on  the  lake. 
Allegheny  County,  including  the  city  of  Pittsburg,  was  carried 
by  the  Republicans.  All  New  England  went  Republican.  The 
Republican  party  was  strong  wherever  the  New  England  man 
had  migrated  and  along  the  highways  of  commerce  and  com- 
munication between  the  upper  Mississippi  valley  and  the 
Atlantic  seaboard. 

REFERENCES  FOR  FURTHER  READING 

Commons,  Documentary  History  of  American  Industrial  Society. 
Vols.  5,  6,  7,  and  8.  Contains  reprints  of  many  important  labor  docu- 
ments of  the  period. 

1  Commons,  Political  Science  Quarterly.    Vol.  24  : 488. 


50     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

Commons,  "Labor  Organization  and  Labor  Politics,"  Quarterly 
Journal  of  Economics.  Vol.  21:323-329. 

Commons,  "The  American  Shoemakers,"  ibid.     Vol.  24  :  39-84. 

Commons,  "Horace  Greeley  and  the  Working  Class  Origin  of  the 
Republican  Party,"  Political  Science  Quarterly.  Vol.  24 :  468-480. 

Carlton,  "Economic  Influences  upon  Educational  Progress  in  the 
United  States,  1820-1850,"  Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin. 
No.  221.  (1908.) 

Carlton,  "The  Workingmen's  Party  of  New  York  City,"  Political 
Science  Quarterly.  Vol.  22  :  401-415. 

Carlton,  "An  American  Utopia,"  Quarterly  Journal  of  Economics. 
Vol.  24 :  428-433. 

Carlton,  "  Humanitarianism,  Past  and  Present,"  International 
Journal  of  Ethics.  Vol.  17:  48-55. 

Carlton,  "Abolition  of  Imprisonment  for  Debt,"  Yale  Review. 
Vol.  17  :  339-444- 

Ely,  The  Labor  Movement  in  America.     Chs.  2  and  3. 

McNeill,  The  Labor  Movement. 

Woollen,  "Labor  Troubles  between  1834  and  1837,"  Yale  Review. 
Vol.  i :  81-100. 

McMaster,  A  History  of  the  People  of  the  United  States.  Vol.  4, 
Ch.  37,  and  Vol.  5,  Ch.  49. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE    CIVIL    WAR    PERIOD,    1857-1872 

THE  period  of  the  Civil  War  is  unique  in  American  industrial 
history.  It  may  not  inaccurately  be  termed  the  epoch  of  the 
second  American  industrial  revolution.  The  period  marks  as 
significant  a  change  in  our  industrial  and  social  history  as  in  our 
political  history.  The  war  caused  an  unprecedented  drain  of 
workers  from  the  productive  industries  into  the  army;  thousands 
of  workers  left  the  plow  and  the  bench  to  take  up  the  musket. 
The  demand  for  goods  was  deranged  as  a  consequence  of  'hostil- 
ities; an  abnormal  demand  arose  for  army  supplies  and  the 
munitions  of  war.  The  war  tariffs  and  internal  revenue  acts 
were  also  disturbing  factors.  Soon  after  the  opening  of  the 
contest  large  issues  of  paper  money  were  made;  and,  as  a  con- 
sequence, prices  rose  rapidly  and  were  subject  to  great  fluctua- 
tions. The  diminution  in  the  supply  of  adult  male  labor  caused 
an  increased  resort  to  child,  woman,  immigrant  and  convict 
labor,  and  led  to  the  rapid  introduction  of  labor-saving  machin- 
ery. While  the  tendency  toward  concentration  of  industry  and 
wealth  began  to  be  apparent  during  the  decade  preceding  the 
war,  the  abnormal  conditions  existing  during  the  conflict  greatly 
accelerated  the  movement.  A  few  labor  organizations  trace 
their  history  back  to  the  decade  of  the  fifties;  but  the  Civil  War 
is  responsible  for  the  industrial  changes  which  have  made  labor 
organizations  permanent  factors  in  our  industrial  life.  The 
growth  of  the  railway  network  rapidly  enlarged  the  market  area, 
and  brought  the  middle  West  into  direct  communication  and 
competition  with  the  seaboard.  In  short,  this  abnormal  epoch 
gave  an  extraordinary  impetus  toward  invention,  large-scale 

Si 


52      HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

industry,  and  the  formation  of  labor  organizations.  "The 
Civil  War  made  iron  the  king  of  the  American  industrial  world. " 

The  historian  can  discern  that  the  decade  of  the  fifties  fore- 
told the  downfall  of  the  small-scale  industries  and  the  advent 
of  industrial  combinations  and  of  the  large  corporations;  but 
contemporary  students  saw  only  the  slavery  agitation  and  the 
events  which  were  hurrying  the  nation  into  civil  strife.  The 
discovery  of  gold  in  California  in  1848  quickened  the  pulse  of 
industry.  The  migration  of  people  to  the  far  West  began;  and 
the  population  of  California  increased  fourfold  in  the  decade  of 
the  fifties.  The  iron  and  copper  mines  of  the  Lake  Superior 
regions  commenced  to  send  shipments  to  the  lake  ports;  and  the 
iron  industry  of  northeastern  Ohio  began  to  give  promise  of  its 
future  magnitude.  The  year  1859  marked  the  beginning  of  the 
phenomenal  growth  of  the  oil  industry.  Many  notable  inven- 
tions were  patented  in  the  years  immediately  preceding  the  Civil 
War.  Among  these  may  be  mentioned  the  sewing  machine, 
the  telegraph,  boot  and  shoe  machinery,  and  the  reaper.  The 
wheat  and  corn  production  of  the  middle  West  was  increasing 
by  leaps  and  bounds.  Exports  and  imports  doubled  in  the 
decade  of  the  fifties.  In  1850  our  imports  of  merchandise  were 
valued  at  $173,500,000;  1860,  at  $353,600,000. 

Industrial  Progress  During  the  War.  "Life  at  the  North 
during  the  war,"  writes  the  historian  Rhodes,  "resembled  that 
of'  most  civilized  communities  which  had  full  communication 
with  the  outside  world.  Business  went  on,  schools  and  colleges 
were  full,  churches  were  attended,  and  men  and  women  had  their 
recreations."  With  the  exception  of  the  first  year,  the  Civil 
War  period  was  one  of  prosperity  in  manufacture,  transporta- 
tion, mining,  and  agriculture.  Profits  were  large;  and  the 
issuance  of  enormous  amounts  of  paper  money  inflated  prices 
and  caused  much  speculation.  The  war  produced  an  abnormal 
demand  for  standarized  articles;  and  such  a  demand  makes 
large-scale  industry  particularly  advantageous.  The  woolen 


THE  CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD,  1857-1872  53 

industry  experienced  a  phenomenal  growth.  The  supply  of 
cotton  was  cut  off;  and  the  government  purchased  large  supplies 
of  army  clothing.  New  woolen  factories  were  opened;  many 
were  operated  both  day  and  night.  Dividends  of  ten  to  twenty 
per  cent,  were  common;  and  larger  returns  were  not  unknown. 
Not  satisfied  with  unusual  profits  honestly  made,  manufac- 
turers resorted  to  the  production  of  "shoddy  "  goods.  The  use 
of  the  sewing  machine  allowed  the  manufacturer  of  clothing 
to  expand  rapidly.  "The  shoe  industry  likewise  benefited  by 
the  sewing  machine,  in  fact  was  converted  from  a  system  of 
household  manufacture  to  the  modern  factory  system."1 
The  rise  of  the  iron  industry  was  even  more  remarkable.  The 
number  of  establishments  for  the  manufacture  of  iron  doubled 
in  the  decade  of  the  sixties,  the  amount  of  capital  invested 
multiplied  nearly  six  times,  and  the  value  of  the  product 
likewise  increased  nearly  six-fold.  The  American  Iron  and 
Steel  Association  was  formed;  and  the  iron  manufacturers 
became  a  powerful  obstacle  on  the  path  of  the  movement  for 
tariff  reduction  after  the  war  was  ended.  Pittsburgh  was 
already  the  great  center  of  the  iron  and  steel  business. 

Before  the  close  of  the  war  the  refining  of  petroleum  became 
an  extensive  industry  with  Cleveland  as  its  chief  center.  Rail- 
way building  also  continued  during  the  war.  In  1860  the  rail- 
way mileage  was  30,635;  in  1870  the  total  had  grown  to  52,914 
miles.  Coal  and  iron  mining  increased  rapidly.  Agriculture 
experienced  a  healthy  growth  during  the  war.  The  call  for 
men  to  go  to  the  front  reduced  the  working  force  and  led  to  an 
unprecedented  demand  for  farm  implements.  It  is  estimated 
that  about  70,000  mowers  and  reapers  were  manufactured  in 
1864,  about  twice  as  many  as  in  1862.  Few  machines  were 
sold  abroad.  The  customary  conservatism  of  the  farmer  and 
his  distrust  of  new  methods  and  implements  vanished  in  the 
face  of  the  necessity  of  harvesting  his  crops.  The  population 

1  Fite,  Social  and  Industrial  Conditions  during  the  Civil  War.    P.  90. 


54      HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

of  the  Western  states  increased  rapidly.  The  state  census  of 
Illinois  taken  in  1865  shows  a  gain  in  population  of  430,000 
over  the  returns  for  1860,  an  increase  of  nearly  twenty-five 
per  cent.  The  returns  for  the  city  of  Chicago  were  109,260 
in  1860,  and  178,539  in  1865.  Chicago  became  the  center  for 
the  grain  and  the  slaughtering  industries;  but  the  increase  in 
manufacturing  is  also  remarkable.  The  following  table  illus- 
trates the  way  in  which  manufactures  developed  in  that  city : l 

Establishments                                      1857  1864 

Agricultural  implement  factories  2  9 

Breweries 19  27 

Distilleries 7  21 

Grain  elevators 7  18 

Packing  houses 13  60 

Iron  foundries 18  19 

Machine  shops    17  28 

Tanneries 4  21 

Carriage  and  wagon  factories 43  154 

Industrial  Consolidation.  While  the  merging  of  small  busi- 
ness concerns  into  larger  ones  had  appeared  before  the  decade 
of  the  sixties  in  a  few  industries  such  as  the  manufacture  of 
cotton  goods,  the  railways,  and  the  telegraph  lines,  the  defi- 
nite movement  toward  centralization  which  is  so  character- 
istic of  the  last  half  century  actually  began  with  the  Civil 
War.  The  Western  Telegraph  Company  finally  absorbed  its 
important  rivals  in  1866.  While  the  soldiers  of  the  North  and 
the  South  were  fighting  on  many  a  battlefield,  railways  were 
uniting;  capitalists  were  combining  to  control  coal  mines  and 
lumber  lands;  oil  refineries  and  salt  mines  were  being  gathered 
under  the  control  of  a  few  companies.  "By  1864  the  iron 
business,"  writes  Miss  Tarbell,  "was  rapidly  becoming  a 
monopoly."  Under  the  pressure  caused  by  the  emission  of 
paper  money,  price  agreements  and  combinations  of  various 
sorts  were  made.  Associations  of  manufacturers  were  formed 

1  File,  ibid.,  p.  95. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD,  1857-1872  55 

to  oppose  higher  taxes  or  to  influence  tariff  legislation.  The 
National  Brewers'  Association  was  formed  in  1862.  In  1870 
a  brewer  declared  that  if  a  proposed  revenue  law  went  "into 
effect,  the  brewers  would  form  an  organization  which  would 
not  only  control  $200,000,000  of  capital,  but  which  would 
have  thousands  of  political  votes  at  its  disposal."1  Other 
organizations,  such  as  the  National  Association  of  Wool 
Manufacturers,  the  New  England  Cotton  Manufacturers' 
Association,  and  the  American  Iron  and  Steel  Association  were 
formed  for  similar  purposes.  "Never  in  the  history  of  the 
country  up  to  that  time  had  there  been  such  a  strong  tendency 
toward  united  and  harmonious  action  on  the  part  of  the  em- 
ploying classes,  whether  this  resulted  in  a  complete  merging 
of  one  company  into  another  or  looser  and  more  temporary 
organizations  to  consider  the  subject  of  prices,  internal  taxes, 
the  tariff,  or  wages;  never  had  there  been  such  an  incentive  to 
consolidation  and  union.  Combination  in  every  line  was  the 
tendency  of  the  hour."2 

Wages  and  Prices.  The  most  familiar  and  trustworthy 
source  of  data  regarding  money,  wages,  and  prices  during  the 
period  of  the  Civil  War  is  the  report  of  a  Senate  Committee 
made  in  1893.  This  report  is  commonly  called  the  "Aldrich 
Report."  According  to  this  report  the  increase  in  relative 
wages  and  prices  may  be  summarized  in  the  following  table. : 3 

Year 
1860 
1861 
1862 
1863 
1864 
1865 
1866 

1  Schliiter,  History  of  the  Brewing  Industry  and,  the  Brewery  Workers'  Organiza- 
tion.    P.  79. 

2  File,  Social  and  Industrial  Conditions  during  the  Civil  War.     Pp.  168-169. 

3  Bogart,  Economic  History  of  the  United  States.     P.  340. 


Prices 

Money  Wages 

Real  Wages 

Simple  Averages 

Simple  Averages 

Simple  Averages 

IOO.O 

IOO.O 

IOO 

100.6 

100.8 

IOO 

117.8 

102.9 

87 

148.6 

110.5 

74 

190.5 

125.6 

66 

216.8 

143-1 

66 

191.0 

152.4 

79 

56      HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

The  table  presented  above  indicates  that  prices  rose  on  the 
average  more  than  money  wages;  and  that  consequently  the 
real  wages  of  wage  earners  in  1864  and  1865  were  only  about 
two- thirds  that  received  in  1860.  The  wage  earners  and  the 
salaried  men  were,  therefore,  seriously  affected  by  the  rise  in 
prices.  One  qualifying  statement  is  worthy  of  notice.  Many 
of  the  able-bodied  and  most  capable  workers  joined  the  army; 
consequently,  the  average  efficiency  of  the  workers  in  a  given 
trade  or  industry  was  probably  reduced.  School  teachers 
suffered  greatly  because  of  the  rising  price  level.  In  1865 
the  school  teachers  of  Philadelphia  presented  a  memorial  to 
the  city  council  showing  the  increased  prices  of  various  neces- 
sities of  life.  This  memorial  presents,  in  a  very  concrete 
manner,  the  difficulties  which  confronted  the  wage  earners  of 
the  period.1 


A  rticle 

Tea  (Ib.)  

1860 
50  cents 

Price 

1865 
$1.50-$!.  75 

Increase 

per  cent 
200-250 

Coffee    

14 

66-70  cents 

3  30—400 

Sugar    

8 

3° 

27"! 

Beef  

11-14 

22-30 

100  (over) 

Mutton  

8-10 

16-20 

100  (about) 

Lard  

ii 

3° 

173 

Butter  

25-35 

7o-$i.oo 

280-285 

Milk  (qt.)   

4-C 

12 

140—200 

Flour  

IOO 

House  rent   
Men's  clothing     . 
Dress    goods    for 
women  and  children 
Muslins     

50 

2OO 
3OO-4OO 

4.00—  4  <;o 

Brown  sheetings  . 
Canton  flannels   . 
Cotton  flaps  
Coal  and  wood 
Boots 

10  cents 
18 

75  cents 

$i-7S 

600-650 
650 

872 
150-200 

2OO-300 

Labor  During  the  Civil  War  Period.     The  rapidity  with 
which  prices  rose  in  the  sixties  was  even  more  marked  than  in 

1  Fincher's  Trade  Review,  January  28,  1865. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD,  1857-1872  57 

the  thirties.  In  the  earlier  period,  as  was  indicated  in  a  pre- 
vious chapter,  an  extraordinary  outburst  of  trade-union  activ- 
ity was  induced;  and  the  rapidly  rising  prices  of  the  sixties 
had  the  same  effect.  After  1862  labor  agitation  became  con- 
siderable; concerted  effort  was  necessary  in  order  to  force 
increases  in  wages  commensurate  with  the  rise  in  prices.  In 
the  period  of  the  sixties,  however,  the  supply  of  labor  was 
reduced  until  the  close  of  the  war,  then  it  was  suddenly  ex- 
panded. In  the  thirties,  few  labor-saving  devices  came  into 
use.  In  the  sixties,  labor-saving  devices  multiplied  rapidly; 
and  the  employing  classes  were  more  strongly  united  than  in 
the  earlier  period.  On  the  other  hand,  the  wage  earner  might 
become  a  soldier  or  move  to  the  farming  or  the  mining  dis- 
tricts of  the  West  or  of  the  middle  West.  Thus  the  growth  of 
organization  among  the  wage  earners  met  certain  obstacles 
which  were  not  important  in  the  thirties. 

The  decade  of  the  fifties  witnessed  the  organization  of  sev- 
eral national  trade  unions  and  of  an  indefinite  number  of  local 
unions.  For  example,  the  cigar  makers  of  Cincinnati  are 
reported  to  have  organized  a  local  in  1843;  another  was 
formed  in  Baltimore  in  1851.  In  succeeding  years,  additional 
locals  were  formed  in  New  York  and  other  cities.  In  1850  a 
national  union  of  printers  was  organized.  None  had  existed 
since  the  ephemeral  national  organization  of  the  thirties 
disappeared  amid  the  chaos  of  the  panic  of  1837.  The 
National  Trade  Association  of  Hat  Finishers  was  organized 
in  1854.  The  iron  molders  and  the  machinists  and  black- 
smiths formed  national  unions  in  1859;  and  the  ship  carpen- 
ters and  the  coal  miners  in  1861.  The  period  of  the  fifties 
had  been  marked  by  little  labor  legislation  except  of  the 
humanitarian  type. 

With  the  issuance  of  paper  money  the  workingman  awoke 
to  find  himself  menaced  by  rising  prices  and  opposed  by  an 
alert,  capable,  and  strong  employing  class.  From  1863  to 


58     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

1865  the  working  people  organized  and  carried  on  strikes  in 
much  the  same  manner  as  from  1834  to  1837.  A  newspaper 
dated  March  26,  1863,  stated  that  many  strikes  had  occurred 
''within  the  last  few  months."  Numerous  trade-union 
organizations  were  said  to  have  been  organized. l  Evidently 
strikes  were  again  "the  fashion"  and  organization  and  agi- 
tation the  watchwords  of  the  wage  earners.  Until  near  the 
end  of  the  war  strikes  were  usually  successful;  but  they  were 
not  sufficiently  successful  to  cause  the  increase  in  wages  to 
keep  pace  with  rising  prices.  "At  one  mass  meeting  in  New 
York  over  fifty  different  unions,  most  of  which  were  new, 
were  represented,  and  by  a  conservative  estimate  the  total 
number  of  new  unions  in  the  city  may  be  placed  at  three 
hundred."  New  national  organizations  naturally  appeared; 
several  were  formed  before  the  surrender  of  Lee.  Among 
those  organized  were  the  Brotherhood  of  the  Footboard,  the 
forerunner  of  the  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers, 
the  Cigar  Makers'  International  Union,  and  the  Bricklayers 
and  Masons'  International  Union.  Before  the  close  of  the 
year  1865,  at  least  thirty  city  central  unions  were  organized. 
"Finally,  in  September,  1864,  when  the  membership  of  the 
unions  was  estimated  at  two  hundred  thousand,  the  trades' 
assemblies  endeavored  to  form  a  national,  or,  rather,  the  Inter- 
national, Industrial  Assembly  of  North  America.  The  upper- 
most questions  in  this  first  national  gathering  were  strikes, 
the  store-order  or  truck  system  of  paying  wages,  cooperation, 
prison  labor,  and  woman's  work"3  From  1863  to  1866  the 
insistent  demands  of  organized  labor  were  for  higher  wages, 
a  shorter  working  day,  and  the  right  to  organize  without 
interference  on  the  part  of  their  employers.  The  aims  of 
the  wage  earners  at  this  time  were  predominating  practical. 

1  Quoted  from  Mitchell,  History  of  the  Greenbacks.    P.  348,  foot-note. 
1  File,  ibid.     P.  205. 

1  Commons   and   Andrews,   Documentary   History   of  American   Industrial 
Society.    Vol.  9  :  23. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD,  1857-1872  59 

With  the  return  of  the  soldiers  looking  for  employment, 
the  zeal  for  unionism  increased  in  strength;  but  the  methods 
and  ideals  of  labor  organizations  were  gradually  modified. 
In  1866  a  National  Labor  Congress  was  held  in  Baltimore. 
The  National  Labor  Union,  the  second  successful  attempt  to 
form  a  national  organization  of  all  labor  unions,  seems  to  have 
been  an  outgrowth  of  the  Congress  of  1866.  Annual  con- 
ventions of  the  National  Labor  Union  were  held  in  1867, 
1868,  1869,  1870,  1871,  and  1872.  The  National  Labor 
Union  was  a  weak  federation  of  local,  state,  and  national 
organizations.  In  the  first  convention  at  least,  delegates 
were  received  from  organizations  other  than  pure  and  simple 
trade  unions.  The  constitution  of  the  Union  declared  that 
it  "shall  be  composed  of  such  labor  organizations  as  may  now 
or  hereafter  exist,  having  for  their  object  the  amelioration  of 
the  condition  of  those  who  labor  for  a  living.  .  .  .  Every  in- 
ternational or  national  organization  shall  be  entitled  to  three 
representatives;  state  organizations  to  two;  trades'  unions 
and  all  other  [labor]  organizations  to  one  representative  in 
the  National  Labor  Congress."1  The  officers  consisted  of 
a  president,  two  vice-presidents,  a  recording  secretary,  a 
treasurer,  and  one  corresponding  representative  in  each  state. 
The  annual  dues  varied  from  $1.00  for  organizations  number- 
ing fifty  members  or  less,  to  $6.00  for  all  unions  having  more 
than  five  hundred  members. 

One  of  the  measures  favored  from  the  outset  was  an  eight- 
hour  day  for  all  wage  earners.  This  demand  was  taken  up  by 
organized  workers  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  In  June, 
1868,  on  the  eve  of  a  presidental  election,  Congress  passed  a 
soon-to-be-emasculated  eight-hour  law  applying  to  all  laborers 
and  mechanics  "employed  by  or  on  behalf  of  the  United 
States  government."  The  National  Labor  Union  loudly 
proclaimed  that  it  had  been  a  potent  factor  in  securing  the 

1  The  word  "labor"  was  inserted  in  1868. 


60     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

passage  of  this  act.  The  prestige  thus  given  to  it  made  the 
1868  meeting  by  far  the  most  important  of  the  six  conven- 
tions of  this  organization.  In  1868  William  H.  Silvis,  who 
was  the  leader  of  the  iron  molders'  union,  and  one  of  the 
ablest  workingmen  of  this  period,  was  elected  president,  but 
he  died  a  few  weeks  before  the  next  annual  meeting.  The 
meeting  held  in  1872  closed  the  career  of  this  weak  advisory 
national  organization.  Only  seven  delegates  attended  the 
last  meeting.  One  well-known  authority  decided  that  this 
organization  died  "from  the  disease  known  as  politics";1 
but  its  chief  purpose  and  aim  seems  to  have  been  political 
rather  than  economic.  It  came  into  being  because  of  a  de- 
sire to  influence  legislation. 

The  important  demands  and  recommendations  in  the  plat- 
form adopted  in  1868  by  the  National  Labor  Union,  were: 
(i)  Since  the  money  monopoly  was  the  parent  of  all  monop- 
olies, the  national  banking  system  should  be  abolished,  and 
the  capital  stock  of  banks  and  government  bonds  should 
not  be  exempted  from  taxation.  (2)  The  establishment  of 
cooperative  stores  and  workshops  was  favored.  (3)  The 
organization  pledged  itself  to  aid  women  wage  earners.  (4) 
The  abolition  of  the  contract  system  of  convict  labor  was 
demanded.  (5)  The  platform  asserted  that  poverty,  vice,  and 
crime  invariably  accompanied  bad  housing  conditions;  and  it 
asked  for  better  dwellings  for  workers.  (6)  The  establish- 
ment of  mechanics'  institutes,  lyceums,  and  reading  rooms 
for  the  education  and  enjoyment  of  the  wage  earners  was 
recommended.  (7)  As  a  remedy  for  unemployment,  emigra- 
tion to  Western  lands  was  advocated. 

Other  demands  made  by  organized  labor  during  the  latter 

half  of  the  sixties  were  (i)  for  an  eight-hour  day,  (2)  that  no 

land  grants  be  made  except  to  actual  settlers,   (3)  for  the 

establishment  of  a  national  labor  bureau,  (4)  that  the  impor- 

1  Ely.  The  Labor  Movement  in  America.     P.  69-70. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD,  1857-1872  61 

tation  of  cheap  labor  be  restricted,  (5)  for  the  reduction  or 
abolition  of  tariff  duties  on  the  necessities  of  life,  (6)  that  only 
a  small  standing  army  be  maintained,  and  (7)  for  the  early 
payment  of  the  national  debt.  The  demands  of  labor  at  this 
time  were  primarily  political  and  required  the  passage  of  legis- 
lation by  the  national  and  state  governments.  The  demands 
which  could  be  obtained  by  purely  trade-union  methods  were 
few.  Unionism  in  the  period  1866  to  1870  was  political 
rather  than  business  unionism. 

Finally  in  1869,  at  the  close  of  the  period  under  considera- 
tion, a  so-called  labor-reform  party  was  organized  in  Massa- 
chusetts. In  the  first  year  of  its  existence,  the  party  elected 
twenty-one  representatives  to  the  State  Assembly  and  one 
State  Senator.  The  state  ticket  polled  13,000  votes,  or  about 
one  in  every  ten  votes  cast.1  At  the  second  convention  held 
in  1870,  Wendell  Phillips  was  nominated  for  governor.  The 
prohibition  party  also  placed  Mr.  Phillips  at  the  head  of  its 
ticket.  The  labor  party  advocated  the  separation  of  indus- 
trial from  political  questions.  The  planks  in  the  platform  of 
1870  were  similar  to  the  recommendations  of  the  National 
Labor  Union.  Two  or  three  new  demands  were  made,  how- 
ever, which  indicate  the  appearance  of  new  evils.  The  regu- 
lation of  railway  rates  and  the  abolition  of  the  importation 
of  laborers,  particularly  from  China,  under  contract,  were 
advocated.  In  1871  the  resolutions  presented  by  Phillips 
and  adopted  by  the  labor-reform  party  were  tinged  with 
socialism.  It  was  affirmed  that  labor  is  the  creator  of  all 
wealth;  the  abolition  of  special  privileges  was  demanded; 
and  it  was  asserted  that  the  capitalistic  system  was  making 
the  rich  richer  and  the  poor  poorer.  In  1872  a  labor  congress 
was  held  at  Cincinnati  to  organize  a  national  party  for  the 
election  of  that  year.  David  Davis  was  nominated;  but  he 
finally  refused  to  accept  the  nomination.  No  further  nomi- 
nations were  made. 

1  American  Workman,  November  20,  1869. 


62      HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

During  the  last  years  of  the  period,  cooperation  vied  with 
political  action  as  a  solution  of  the  difficulties  confronting 
labor  organizations.  William  H.  Silvis,  as  early  as  1864, 
advocated  the  establishment  of  cooperative  foundries.  Ac- 
cording to  this  labor  leader,  "cooperation  is  the  only  true 
remedy  for  low  wages,  strikes,  lockouts,  and  a  thousand  other 
impositions  and  annoyances  to  which  workingmen  are  sub- 
jected."1 It  is  known  that  a  number  of  cooperative  foun- 
dries were  established  during  the  latter  years  of  this  period. 

The  most  significant  demand  made  by  the  wage  earners  in 
this  period  was  for  an  eight-hour  day.  The  basic  principles 
of  the  new  philosophy  of  the  short  working  day  were  formu- 
lated by  Ira  Steward,  a  mechanic  of  Boston.  Steward  boldly 
cast  the  time-honored  wage-fund  doctrine  overboard.  The 
short  working  day,  by  increasing  the  amount  of  the  workers' 
leisure,  would  raise  the  standard  of  living  of  the  workers.  As 
the  standard  of  living  rises,  wages,  it  was  argued,  would  also 
rise,  and  more  and  more  machinery  would  be  used  in  produc- 
tion. "To  employ  muscular  labor,"  wrote  Steward,  "in- 
stead of  the  great  forces  of  nature,  not  only  means  poverty, 
but  the  physical  abuse,  deformity,  and  premature  decay  of 
the  laborer.  .  .  .  Natural  forces  never  grow  tired ;  are  always 
ready  when  the  conditions  necessary  to  employ  them  are 
ready;  and  to  their  power  to  produce  wealth  abundantly  there 
is  no  conceivable  limit."  If  labor  were  made  expensive  by 
shortening  the  working  day  and  increasing  the  wants  of  the 
wage  earner,  natural  forces  would  multiply  indefinitely  the 
total  amount  of  production.  Wages  are  thus  made  indirectly 
to  depend  upon  the  standard  of  living.  This  optimistic 
program  aimed  at  the  final  elimination  of  the  capitalist. 
"  For  wages  will  continue  to  increase  until  the  capitalist  and 
laborer  are  one,"  and  therefore  it  follows  that  cooperation 
will  replace  the  wage  system.  But  the  presence  of  wage 

1  Quoted  in  Ely's  The  Labor  Movement  in  America.     P.  183. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD,  1857-1872  63 

earners  satisfied  with  a  low  standard  of  living  was  considered 
to  be  a  constant  menace  to  all  clinging  to  a  higher  standard. 
In  the  era  of  wide  markets,  high  standards  of  living  in  Amer- 
ica are  menaced  by  the  low  standards  of  the  men  in  China  and 
India.  "The  world-wide  power  of  the  lowest,  over  the  high- 
est paid  labor,  can  no  longer  be  disregarded,"  declared  this 
spokesman  of  the  wage-earning  class  of  a  generation  ago. 
"Although  Steward  failed  to  secure  general  legislation  in  all 
states,  the  trade  unions  made  his  doctrine  their  basic  one;  and 
today,  among  American  wage  earners,  whether  organized  or 
unorganized,  as  distinguished  from  immigrant  wage  earners, 
Steward's  doctrine  is  the  instinctive  philosophy."1 

The  era  of  rising  prices  in  the  thirties  caused  a  flash  of  class 
consciousness.  Again,  from  1862  to  1866,  bitter  antagonism 
between  employer  and  employee  was  not  lacking.  On  June 
30, 1863,  preceding  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  by  three  days,  an 
organization  of  Philadelphia  employers  decided  to  run  the 
establishments  of  their  members  only  half-time,  paying  half- 
time  wages,  "in  order  that  the  men  may  organize  and  drill 
in  the  afternoon."  This  patriotic  ardor  was  not  displayed 
until  Lee's  army  menaced  Pennsylvania.  Fincher's  Trade 
Review  declared  that  the  employers  "mean  to  combine  for 
the  purpose  of  forcing  their  hundreds  and  thousands  of 
employees  to  defend  their  (the  employers')  property,  at  their 
(the  employees')  own  expense."  The  editor  of  another 
labor  paper  antedated  by  nearly  forty  years  the  opening 
words  of  John  Mitchell's  Organized  Labor  when  he  stated 
that  the  workingmen  no  longer  expect  to  become  capitalists. 
He  declared  that  an  exclusive  caste  based  upon  wealth 
was  in  the  process  of  formation.  "The  hope  that  the  work- 
ingman  may  enter  this  circle  is  a  glittering  delusion  held  up 

1  Commons  and  Andrews,  Documentary  History  of  American  Industrial 
Society,  Vol.  9  :  26.  The  quotations  from  the  writings  of  Ira  Steward  are  taken 
from  articles  reprinted  in  this  volume. 


64     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

before  him  to  distract  his  attention  from  the  real  object  of 
his  interest. " J     William  H.  Silvis,  in  a  speech  delivered  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  sixties,  spoke  of  "  a  money  aristocracy  - 
proud,  imperious,  and  dishonest.  .  .  .  This  power  is  blasting 
and  blistering  everything  it  comes  in  contact  with. " 

The  influx  of  immigrants  during  the  last  years  of  the  war 
and  the  occasional  use  of  negroes  as  strike  breakers  intensi- 
fied the  antagonism  between  the  employers  and  the  union 
men.  And  the  coming  of  the  immigrant  increased  the 
divisive  force  of  race  prejudice  and  antagonism  which  has 
retarded  the  development  of  unionism  in  this  country.  It 
was  feared  that  when  the  workingmen  who  had  enlisted  re- 
turned they  would  find  their  places  filled  by  immigrants  from 
foreign  lands  and  by  the  emancipated  slaves.  As  early  as 
1863  a  spokesman  of  the  wage  workers  demanded  "proper 
restriction  upon  the  ingress  of  emancipated  slaves."  Owing 
to  his  low  standards  of  living,  it  was  said  that  the  black  man 
could  not  be  a  Kfair  competitor  of  the  white  worker."3 

In  the  Civil  War  period,  labor  was  never  strongly  organized. 
No  clear  vision  of  the  solidarity  of  the  laboring  classes  had  as 
yet  caught  and  held  the  attention  of  the  wage  earners.  But 
the  Civil  War  made  permanent  labor  organization  inevitable. 
The  Civil  War  marks  a  transition  period  in  our  labor  history. 
Concentrated  capital,  the  extensive  use  of  subdivided  labor, 
the  influx  of  the  cheap  labor  of  southern  Europe,  and  the 
peopling  of  the  West  have  given  organized  labor  its  big  prob- 
lems. Henceforward,  the  United  States  was  destined  to  be 
"an  industrial  community  which  organized  its  industries  on  a 
large  scale."  With  the  panic  of  1873  unionism  suffered  a 
temporary  check,  only  to  be  followed  by  a  new  era  in  the  his- 
tory of  labor  organizations. 

1  The  Workingman's  Advocate  (Chicago),  September  i,  1866. 

2  Silvis,  The  Life,  Speeches,  Labors,  and  Essays  of  William  II.  Silvis.    P.  280. 
8  Fincher's  Trade  Review,  June  13,  1853. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD,  1857-1872  65 

The  Knights  of  St.  Crispin.  The  history  of  this  organiza- 
tion of  shoemakers  is  considered  in  this  chapter  because  it 
arose  during  the  period  of  transition  of  the  shoemaking  indus- 
try from  the  small-scale  or  handicraft  stage  to  the  large-scale 
or  factory  stage,  and  near  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  period. 
During  the  early  fifties  many  inventions  were  made  which 
"were  aids  to  the  journeyman  rather  than  substitutes  for  his 
skill."  But  with  the  introduction  of  the  pegging  machine 
in  1857  and  the  sole-sewing  machine  five  years  later,  the 
journeyman  shoemaker  faced  the  danger  of  the  loss  of  his 
trade  and  the  competition  of  unskilled  labor  or  "  green  hands. " 
With  the  invention  of  these  machines  the  shoemaking  indus- 
try was  ripe  for  the  factory  stage,  and  the  Civil  War  with  its 
demands  for  soldiers'  shoes  caused  the  evolution  to  be  almost 
a  revolution.  By  1870  or  1875  the  factory  system  was  well 
developed.  The  Knights  of  St.  Crispin  were  first  organized 
in  1867;  and  the  first  meeting  of  the  Grand  Lodge  was  held 
in  1868.  In  form  it  was  a  secret  organization  with  a  ritual. 
Within  five  or  six  years  this  organization  became  the  most 
powerful  labor  organization  formed  up  to  that  time;  and  then 
it  quickly  melted  away.  "It  made  and  unmade  politicians; 
it  established  a  monthly  journal;  it  started  cooperative  stores; 
it  fought,  often  successfully,  for  better  returns  to  its  members 
for  labor  performed;  it  grew  rapidly  in  numbers,  and  became 
international  in  scope."1  A  New  York  newspaper  in  1869 
stated  that  the  first  lodge  of  St.  Crispin  in  that  city  was 
organized  in  1868  in  an  attic  room;  but  the  union  had  grown 
until  it  was  said  to  include  in  its  membership  nearly  all  the 
skilled  shoemakers  of  the  city  and  to  control  practically  all 
the  shops  of  the  city.  At  the  height  of  its  power  the  order 
had  a  membership  of  at  least  40,000,  or  it  contained  about 
four  times  as  many  workers  as  any  other  labor  organization 
then  in  existence.  The  order  practically  disappeared  soon 
after  the  panic  of  1873. 

1  McNeil,  The  Labor  Movement.    P.  200. 


66     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

The  shoemakers  were  confronted  by  two  dangers;  either  one 
of  the  two  alone  would  have  been  sufficient  to  call  forth  or- 
ganized protests.  The  two  united  forced  the  craftsmen  with 
an  almost  unparalleled  spontaneity  into  a  powerful  labor 
organization.  In  the  first  place,  the  effect  of  rising  prices 
directly  pinched  the  shoemaker  as  it  did  other  workers;  and, 
secondly,  the  employers  in  the  factories  were  substituting 
green  hands  —  cheap  labor  —  for  the  skilled  journeymen  as 
a  consequence  unemployment  increased  and  the  employers 
were  actively  trying  to  reduce  wages.  The  St.  Crispins  were 
primarily  organized  as  a  national  body,  not  so  much  to  pro- 
test against  the  use  of  the  machine  as  against  the  introduction 
of  cheap  labor  which  seemed  to  the  journeymen  to  be  the  abuse 
of  the  machine.  They  attempted  to  establish  a  monopoly 
in  the  shoemaking  industry  by  refusing  to  teach  appren- 
tices and  green  hands.  One  of  their  important  rules  read: 
"No  member  of  the  order  shall  teach  or  aid  in  teaching  any 
part  or  parts  of  boot  or  shoe  making  unless  the  lodge  shall 
give  permission."  The  St.  Crispins  utilized  the  strike;  but 
they  considered  cooperation  to  be  an  efficient  remedy  "for 
many  of  the  evils  of  the  present  iniquitous  system  of  wages. " 
''The  Knights  of  St.  Crispin  was  the  first  great  protest  of 
America's  workmen  against  the  abuse  of  the  machine.  Fan- 
tastic in  some  of  its  superficial  features,  crude  in  its  methods, 
and  loose  in  its  organization,  it  yet  embodied  an  essential 
demand  for  justice.  The  shoemakers  insisted,  and  rightly, 
that  the  benefits  of  machinery  should  be  to  those  who  toil 
with  it  as  well  as  to  those  who  own  it  or  buy  its  products."1 
Such  a  powerful  labor  movement  could  not  fail  to  develop 
opposing  associations  of  employers  and  dealers.  One  of  these, 
a  Shoe  and  Leather  Association,  protested  against  the  methods 
of  labor  organizations.  Using  words  similar  to  those  em- 

1  Lescohier,  Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin.     No.  355,  p.  59.     See 
also  Commons,  Quarterly  Journal  of  Economics.     Vol.  24:  72-75. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD,  1857-1872  67 

ployed  by  employers'  associations  of  today,  this  body  de- 
clared that  "nothing  will  improve  the  condition  of  journey- 
men but  mental  and  moral  culture. "  A  vigorous  protest  was 
made  against  what  is  now  called  the  closed  shop  policy. 
This  policy  was  held  to  be  a  violation  of  the  rights  of  both 
employer  and  employee.  Wages  should  be  determined  by 
the  familiar  law  of  demand  and  supply  without  interference 
on  the  part  of  organized  labor.1 

REFERENCES   FOR  FURTHER  READING 

Fite,  Social  and  Industrial  Conditions  during  the  Civil  War. 

Commons  and  Andrews,  Documentary  History  of  American  Industrial 
Society.  Vols.  9  and  10. 

Ely,  The  Labor  Movement  in  America.     Ch.  3. 

Wright,  Industrial  Evolution  of  the  United  States.     Chs.  12  and  19. 

Mitchell,  A  History  of  the  Greenbacks.     Pt.  2,  Chs.  4  and  5. 

McNeill,  The  Labor  Movement. 

Lescohier,  "The  Knights  of  St.  Crispin," Bulletin  of  the  University  of 
Wisconsin.  No.  355. 

Rhodes,  History  of  the  United  States  from  the  Compromise  of  1850. 
Vol.  5. 

1  The  American  Workman,  August  13,  1870. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE    PERIOD    OF    NATIONAL    ORGANIZATION 

Recent  Industrial  Progress.  The  panic  of  1873  again 
accelerated  the  movement  toward  industrial  combination  (by 
forcing  many  small  concerns  into  bankruptcy  ;^and  soon  after 
the  recovery  from  the  panic  of  1893,  the  rush  toward  integra- 
tion of  industries  began.  The  census  statistics  clearly  show 
the  rapid  progress  in  manufacture  toward  large-scale  industry. 


Factory,  Mechanical,  and  Neighborhood  Industries 


1870 

Number  of  estab- 
lishments   252,148 

Wage  earners  (total)  2,053,996 

Capital  (total) $2,118,208,769 

Value  of  products 

(average) 4,232,325,442 


253,852 

2,732,595 

$2,790,272,606 


1890 

3S5.4IS 

4,251,613 

$6,525,156,486 


1900 


1905 


512,254  533,769 

5,308,406  6,152,443 

$9,817,434,799     $13,872,035,371 


5,369,579,191        9,372,437,283      13,004,400,143        16,866,706,985 


Agricultural  Implements 
1850 


1880 


1890 


1900 


1860  1870 

Number  of  establishments    1,333      2,116  2,076  1,943  910  715 

Capital  (per  establishment)    $2,674    $6,553  $16,780  $31,966  $159,686  $220,571 

Value  of  products  (per  establishment) .   $5,133    $9,845  $25,080  $35,327  $89,31°  $i4i,549 

The  following  table  indicates  the  completeness  with  which 
the  individual  and  partnership  methods  of  business  manage- 
ment of  the  pre-Civil  War  period  have  been  superseded  by 
the  corporate  form  of  control. 

Character  of  Ownership  of  Establishments  in  the  United  States, 


Establishments 

Capital 

Wage  earners 

Value  of  products 

Number 

Per 
cent. 

Amount 

Per 

cent. 

Number 

Per 

cent. 

Amount 

Per 

cent. 

Individual  .... 
Firm  

113  961 
47.942 
51,156 
3,203 

52.7 

22.  -2 

23-6 
x-S 

$965,831,738 
1,188,892,836 
10,510,811,355 
20,729,744 

7.6 
9.4 
82.8 

O.2 

755,972 
841,280 
3,864,549 
8,520 

13.8 
15.4 
70.6 

O.2 

1,702,980,808 
2,132,619,830 
10,912,080,421 
54,466,028 

"•S 
14-4 
73-7 
0.4 

Inc.  Company  .  . 
Miscellaneous  .  . 

68 


THE  PERIOD  OF  NATIONAL  ORGANIZATION          69 

Up  to  the  time  of  the  panic  of  1893,  with  a  few  exceptions, 
the  profits  made  in  a  given  business  were  usually  expended 
for  the  extension  of  business  within  that  industry,  such  as  in 
the  utilization  of  by-products.  But  gradually  the  opportuni- 
ties for  such  investments  declined.  Then  followed  the  building 
up  of  group  interests.  The  United  States  Steel  Corpora- 
tion, with  a  capitalization  of  approximately  a  billion  dollars, 
is  perhaps  the  best  example  up  to  date  of  integration  in 
industry.  This  corporation  controls  over  two  hundred  manu- 
facturing and  transportation  companies,  iron  ore  mines  which 
produce  approximately  four-fifths  of  the  iron  ore  mined  in  the 
United  States,  and  about  one-half  of  the  coke  output  of  the 
country.  It  not  only  combines  under  one  board  of  directors 
iron  and  steel  mills,  but  such  varied  industries  as  bridge  works, 
tin  plate  manufactories,  coal  and  iron  mines,  coking  furnaces, 
railway  and  steamship  lines,  docks,  and  limestone  quarries. 

In  1904  it  was  estimated  that  over  three  hundred  "trusts," 
capitalized  at  more  than  seven  billion  dollars,  and  operating 
over  five  thousand  plants,  existed  in  this  country.  "Trusts" 
control,  in  a  more  or  less  complete  manner,  the  production  of  a 
multitude  of  dissimilar  articles,  —  from  iron  and  steel  to 
candy,  from  locomotives  to  tin  cans,  and  from  beef  to  buttons. 
The  railways  of  the  country  are  controlled  by  a  few  compa- 
nies. The  control  of  our  public  utilities,  the  telegraph  lines 
and  the  express  business,  is  centralized.  The  directors  of 
great  combinations  like  the  Standard  Oil  Company  are  also 
found  among  the  directors  of  a  multitude  of  other  important 
businesses,  —  railways,  banks,  manufacturing  establishments, 
and  steamship  companies.  Industrial  control  is  growing 
more  and  more  unified.  Intimate  relationships  now  exist 
between  railways,  mines,  industrials,  and  banks.  The  efforts 
of  the  men  in  control  are  now  chiefly  directed  toward(increas- 
ing  ownership  and  strengthening  control/rather  than  toward 
industrial  efficiency.  Financial  manipulation  rather  than 


70     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

technical  efficiency  is  becoming  the  aim  of  the  captains  of  in- 
dustry or  rather  of  the  generals  of  finance.  The  technical 
experts  are  employees.  This  evolution  in  the  industrial  and 
financial  world  very  materially  affects  the  relations  between 
labor  and  capital,  between  the  employee  and  the  employer. 
The  personal  nexus  ^between  the  employer  and  the  wage 
earner  has  vanished;  and  their  contact  is  now  impersonal  and 
long-distant.  The  stockholders,  scattered  all  over  the  nation, 
and  the  directors  never  or  rarely  come  in  touch  with  the 
technical  and  concrete  affairs  of  the  business  they  own  and 
control.  Labor  problems  and  all  the  facts  and  incidents  of 
modern  industrial  and  social  life  cannot  be  thoroughly  under- 
stood unless  due  weight  is  given  to  the  effects  of  the  central- 
ization and  the  unification  of  industrial  management. 

Organizations  of  Labor.  The  panic  of  1873  forced  many 
unions  to  disband.  Since  the  dues  paid  by  the  members  of 
these  early  trade  unions  were  low  and  no  adequate  system  of 
benefits  was  provided,  many  organizations  could  not  stand  the 
pressure  of  hard  times.  The  membership  of  the  International 
Typographical  Union,  for  example,  fell  from  9,797  in  1873  to 
4,260  in  1878;  and  the  number  of  unions  in  the  organization 
decreased  from  105  to  60.  Several  of  the  organizations  among 
the  wage  earners  founded  between  1873  and  1881  were  secret 
in  character,  and  were  not  strictly  trade  unions.  " Aside  from 
the  national  unions  in  a  few  trades,  the  most  striking  charac- 
teristic of  labor  organizations  during  this  period  was  lack  of 
unity.  So  long  as  these  secret  orders,  some  of  which  declared 
that  trade  unions  had  outlived  their  usefulness,  thrived,  any 
comprehensive  trade  union  organization  was  well  nigh  im- 
possible." l  In  the  eighties  the  Knights  of  Labor  gathered 
large  numbers  of  workingmen  into  its  fold;  and,  after  1878, 
local  and  national  trade  unions  gradually  increased  their 

1  Aldrich,  "The  American  Federation  of  Labor,"  Economic  Studies.  Vol. 
3:  222. 


THE  PERIOD  OF  NATIONAL  ORGANIZATION          71 

membership.  The  depression  of  the  nineties  again  retarded 
the  progress  of  unionism.  For  five  or  more  years  after  1900, 
and  following  a  period  of  rapid  integration  in  the  industrial 
world,  the  membership  of  labor  organizations  increased 
rapidly;  but  the  history  of  this  period  can  best  be  given  in 
connection  with  that  of  the'  American  Federation  of  Labor. 

The  Knights  of  Labor.  rThe  Noble  Order  of  the  Knights  of 
Labor  was  organized  by  U^  S.  Stgyens,  a  tailor  of  Philadel- 
phia, on  Thanksgiving  Day  of  1860^  It  was  at  first  a  secret 
organization.  The  name  of  th^organization  was  even  kept 
secret;  and  the  order  had  a  somewhat  elaborate  ritual.  Later 
the  element  of  secrecy  was  eliminated.  The  first  local  assem- 
bly of  the  Knights  was  composed  solely  of  garment  workers. 
The  original  intention  seems  to  have  been  the  formation  of  a 
trade  union  to  advance  the  interests  of  the  garment  workers. 
Within  a  year,  however,  a  man  who  was  not  a  garment  worker 
was  initiated.  The  ideal  of  trade  unionism  was  replaced  by 
the  hope  of  successfully  amalgamating  all  workers  into  one 
coherent  and  centrally  managed  body.  The  first  general 
assembly  of  the  order  was  held  in  1878,  at  which  time  the 
membership  was  reported  to  have  been  80,000.  The  mem- 
bership increased  gradually  until  1885,  at  which  time  it 
numbered  over  100,000;  then  suddenly  the  order  grew  in 
strength  until  hi  1886  at  least  600,000  members  acknowledged 
the  supremacy  of  the  general  assembly.  This  was  the  high 
water  mark  in  the  history  of  the  order.  Mr.  Powderly,  the 
grand  master  workman,  said:  —  "The  officers  were  taken  up 
in  the  vain  attempt  to  assimilate  and  educate  the  incoming 
tide  of  humanity  which  looked  to  the  organization  for  relief, 
rather  than  to  their  own  efforts  in  the  organization  in  the 
behalf  of  all. "  The  symptoms  of  over-organization  appeared; 
many  strikes  occured;  political  entanglements  followed;  co- 
operative experiments  were  costly;  difficulties  with  trade 
unions  became  serious;  and  frequent  internal  dissentions  arose. 


72      HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

The  tide  set  definitely  toward  the  formation  of  national  trade 
unions  and  the  membership  of  the  Knights  decreased.  Feder- 
ation rather  than  amalgamation  became  the  accepted  method 
of  unification  among  labor  organizations.  The  Knights  of 
Labor  still  exists,  but  only  as  an  impotent  organization. 

The  government  of  the  Knights  of  Labor  is  highly  central- 
ized. The  executive  officers  have  a  large  measure  of  author- 
ity over  the  subordinate  bodies.  They  may  suspend  officers 
and  members,  revoke  charters,  and,  since  1886,  order  or 
terminate  strikes.  "Full  and  final  jurisdiction  in  all  matters 
pertaining  to  the  local  and  district  assemblies"  is  vested  in 
the  general  assembly.  This  general  governing  body  meets 
annually,  and  is  composed  of  delegates  chosen  from  each  of 
the  bodies  directly  subordinate  to  it.  One  delegate  is  allowed 
for  a  certain  quota  of  members.  Subordinate  to  the  general 
assembly  are(national  trade  assemblies,  state  assemblies,  dis- 
trict assemblies,  and  local  assemblies.^  The  local  assemblies 
are  usually  composed  of  men  of  one  trade;  but  some  locals 
are  " mixed  assemblies"  composed  of  men  of  various  trades. 
The  latter  seek  "to  gather  into  one  association  all  branches 
of  honorable  toil,  without  regard  to  nationality,  sex,  creed,  or 
color."  Men  of  nearly  all  classes  are  admitted.  "At  the 
option  of  each  local  assembly  any  person  over  the  age  of 
sixteen  years  is  eligible  to  become  a  member  of  the  order, 
except  employers  in  the  manufacture  or  sale  of  intoxicating 
liquors,  and  no  banker,  professional  gambler,  or  a  lawyer  can 
be  admitted."  Many  farmers  were  members  of  the  order  in 
the  years  of  its  greatest  strength.  A  local  may  be  directly 
attached  to  the  general  assembly;  but  it  is  usually  subordi- 
nate to  a  district,  a  state,  or  a  national  trade  assembly.  A 
district  assembly  is  composed  of  representatives  of  the  local 
in  a  given  locality.  It  may  include  only  workers  in  one  trade 
or  it  may  be  a  "mixed  assembly."  "A  state  assembly,  when 
formed,  has  jurisdiction  over  all  the  territory  of  its  State 


THE  PERIOD  OF  NATIONAL  ORGANIZATION          73 

which  is  not  assigned  to  mixed  district  assemblies  already 
existing,  together  with  such  territory  as  may  be  surrendered 
by  any  such  district  assembly." l  The  national  trade 
assemblies  are,  as  the  name  indicates,  made  up  of  repre- 
sentatives from  the  locals  composed  of  workers  in  one  trade. 

The  Knights  of  Labor  proposed  to  improve  the  conditions  of 
the  laboring  class  as  a  whole,  not  merely  to  better  the  condi- 
tions^TaTrracuon  oi  the  mass,  that  is,  of  one  trade.  ("  An  injury 
to  one  is  the  concern  of  all, "/is  a  favorite  motto.  The  ultimate 
aim  of  the  leaders  of  this  organization  in  the  early  part  of  its 
career  was  some  form  of  a  cooperative^commonwealth.  In  the 
days  of  its  prosperity  this  organization  had  aline  conception  of 
the  solidarity  .of  the  working  class;  but  the  time  had  not  yet 
arrived  when  an  organization  which  aimed  at  the  amalgama- 
tion of  all  workers  could  maintain  an  effective  organization. 

The  declaration  of  principles  adopted  by  the  first  general 
assembly  indicates  that  the  Knights  of  Labor  expected  the 
betterment  of  the  working  class  to  come  through  political 
action  or  cooperation  rather  than  through  strikes,  boycott, 
and  the  other  customary  methods  of  trade  unions.  Among 
the  reforms  demanded  by  the  first  general  assembly  were  the 
referendum,  the  establishment  of  a  bureau  of  labor  statistics, 
that  occupancy  and  use  of  land  should  furnish  the  only  valid 
title  to  land,  the  prohibition  of  child  labor,  the  levying  of 
graduated  income  and  inheritance  taxes,  the  establishment 
of  a  postal  savings  bank  system,  government  ownership  of  the 
railways  and  of  the  telegraph  lines,  the  introduction  of  the 
system  of  cooperation  to  supersede  the  wage  system,  the  use  of 
arbitration  in  the  case  of  labor  disputes,  and  the  gradual  intro- 
duction of  the  eight-hour  day.  One  of  their  aims  was  "to  make 
industrial  and  moral  worth,  not  wealth,  the  true  standard  of 
individual  and  national  greatness."  This  peculiar  hotch-potch 
of  idealism,  political  reform,  and  quasi-socialism  could  not 
1  Report  of  the  Industrial  Commission.  Vol.  17:  17. 


74     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

form  a  firm  basis  upon  which  to  erect  permanent  union  of 
men  from  many  trades.  Too  many  of  these  demands  did  not 
relate  definitely  and  specifically  to  the  immediate  interests  of 
the  wage  earners.  The  rank  and  file  of  the  members  of  this 
order  could  not  be  expected  "to  discuss  patiently,  adopt  calmly, 
and  execute  bravely,  plans  for  the  amelioration ' '  of  all  wage 
earners,  skilled  and  unskilled,  black  or  white.  Consequently, 
the  Knights  of  Labor  gave  way  to  another  organization  whose 
eyes  were  fixed  on  more  immediate  goals,  and  whose  ideal  of 
government  was  confederation  rather  than  centralization. 

The  American  Federation  of  Labor.  This  national  labor 
organization  was  founded  in  1881.  It  grew  slowly  during 
the  first  years  of  its  existence;  the  number  of  members  repre- 
sented in  the  annual  meeting  of  1890  was  190,000.  This  figure 
and  subsequent  figures  represent  the  membership  actually 
paying  the  per  capita  tax.  The  real  membership  is  somewhat 
larger  as  some  of  the  locals  are  "tax  dodgers."  According  to 
one  estimate  the  actual  membership  is  twenty  per  cent, 
larger  than  the  reported  membership.  In  1900  the  number 
of  members  was  reported  to  be  550,300.  After  that  year 
came  an  extraordinary  period  of  prosperity  for  the  Federation; 
the  membership  increased  by  leaps  and  bounds.  The  approx- 
imate figures  for  1900  and  succeeding  years  are:  — l 

Year  Membership 

1900  55°,3°o 

IQOI  789,500 

1902  1,025,300 

1903  1,605,500 

1904  1,676,000 
IQOS  1,570,300 

1908  1,624,800 

1909  1,524,700 

1  Figures  for  1901-1909  are  obtained  by  multiplying,  by  100,  the  total 
number  of  votes  cast  at  the  annual  meeting  minus  the  votes  of  the  state  and 
city  federations.  See  Report  of  Proceedings  for  1909,  p.  52.  The  increase 
in  the  membership  of  the  affiliated  national  and  international  unions  during 
1910  was  reported  to  be  218,229. 


THE  PERIOD  OF  NATIONAL  ORGANIZATION          75 

The  period  of  rapid  advance  was  from  1900  to  1904  inclusive. 
For  example,  the  gain  in  membership  between  1902  and  1903 
was  greater  than  the  entire  membership  in  1900.  If  the 
actual  membership  is  twenty  per  cent,  more  than  the  paid-up 
membership,  1,800,000  wage  earners  were,  in  1909,  affiliated 
with  the  Federation.^fn  1909  practically  all  the  important 
labor  organizations  of  the  United  States  were  affiliated  with  it 
except  several  railway  brotherhoods,  the  American  Flint  Glass 
Workers,  the  Western  Federation  of  Miners,  the  National 
Association  of  Letter  Carriers,  the  Bricklayers  and  Masons' 
Union,  the  National  Association  of  Steam  Fitters,  and  the  Stone 
Masons'  International  Union.  And  in  1911  one  of  these,  the 
Western  Federation  of  Miners,  affiliated  with  the  American 
Federation.  The  membership  of  the  railway  brotherhoods 
not  affiliated  with  the  Federation  was  approximately  294,000 
in  1909.  It  may  be  estimated  that  in  1909  about  2,500,000 
wage  earners  were  members  of  American  labor  unions. 

The  growth  in  the  membership  of  the  American  Federation 
of  Labor  has  received  an  unmistakable  check  in  recent  years. 
The  year  of  largest  membership  was  1304;  and  iQo8_stands 
second.  (The  policy  of  antagonism  on  the  part  of  great  cor- 
porations and  powerful  employers'  associations,  and  the  hos- 
tile attitude  of  the  courts  as  evidenced  by  certain  recent  and 
important  decisions,  are,  temporarily  at  least,  retarding  the 
growth  of  organized  labor  in  this  country.}  At  the  present 
time,  1910-1911,  labor  organizations  are  passing  through  a 
critical,  and  probably  a  transition,  period.  Bitter  opposition 
and  adverse  judicial  decisions  may  force  even  conservative 
unions  to  adopt  other  methods  and  policies  than  those  utilized 
during  the  last  two  or  three  decades.  The  following  unions 
are  perhaps  the  most  important  of  those  which  show,  accord- 
ing to  the  report  of  the  secretary  of  the  Federation,  a  marked 
decrease  in  membership.  The  second  column  gives  the  year 
of  maximum  voting  strength. 


76     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

Name  Year    Membership    Membership 

in  1 909 

Iron,  Steel  andJTiri  Workers'  Amalgamated 

Association 1903  15,000  6,000 

Longshoremen's  International  Association 1904  50,000  21,300 

Meat  Cutters  and  Butcher  Workmen 1904  34,400  6,300 

International  Brotherhood  of  Teamsters   1904  84,000  32,000 

International  Machinists'  Union 1908  62,100  48,400 

United  Brotherhood  of  Carpenters  and  Joiners  .  .  1907  192,000  164,000 

The  total  decline  in  membership  of  the  sjx  national  unions  for 
1909  from  the  years  of  maximum  membership  in  each  union 
is  159,500.  The  first  three  unions  have  been  forced  to  fight 
bitterly  hostile  employers.  The  machinists  have  also  faced 
strong  opposition.  At  present  the  Glass  Bottle  Blowers' 
Association,  a  strong  union  of  skilled  men,  is  menaced  by  the 
introduction  of  an  automatic  glass- blowing  machine. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  following  important  affiliated  unions 
had  practically  as  large  a  membership,  or  a  larger  one,  in  1909 
than  in  any  preceding  year:  the  Barbers'  National  Union, 
the  Boot  and  Shoe  Workers'  Union,  the  Brewery  Workers, 
the  United  Garment  Workers,  the  United  Mine  Workers, 
the  Plumbers  and  Gasfitters,  the  Street  Railway  Employees' 
Association,  the  International  Typographical  Union,  and  the 
unaffiliated  railway  brotherhoods.  In  an  article  entitled, 
"The  Decline  in  Trade  Union  Membership,"  one  writer 
draws  the  carefully  guarded  conclusion  from  a  study  of  the 
above  and  other  statistics,  than" collective  bargaining  on  a 
large  scale  in  the  United  States  seems  to  be  for  the  moment 
upon  the  decline.  ...  It  now  appears  as  if  assured  success 
in  trade-unionism  would  be,  for  the  time  at  least,  limited  to 
the  building  trades,  to  those  occupations  entailing  great 
personal  responsibility  as  well  as  skill,  notably  the  railway 
unions;  and  to  the  highly  skilled  trades  which  have  firmly 
entrenched  themselves  behind  policies  of  conservative  finance 
and  a  reasonable  attitude  toward  independent  workmen."1] 

1  Parker,  Quarterly  Journal  of  Economics.     Vol.  24  :  564-569. 


THE  PERIOD  OF  NATIONAL  ORGANIZATION         77 

And  Professor  Commons  declared  that  "the  unions  have 
practically  disappeared  from  the  trusts,  and  are  disappearing 
from  the  large  corporations  as  they  grow  large  enough  to 
specialize  minutely  their  labor. " l  It  is  worthy  of  notice 
that  the  largest  union  affiliated  with  the  Federation,  the 
Mine  Workers'  Union,  had  a  larger  membership  in  1909  than 
in  any^pfeceding  year;  and  that  this  union  is  of  the  indus- 
trial type.2  Another  industrial  union,  the  Brewery  Workers' 
Union,  had  a  larger  membership  in  1908  and  in  1909  than  was 
reported  at  any  preceding  meeting  of  the  American  Federa- 
tion. These  facts  point  toward  the  conclusion  that  the  indus-  , 
trial  union  is  an  effective  form  of  organization.  The  evidence, 
moreover,  leads  almost  inevitably  to  the  further  conclusion 
that  the  old  line  type  of  separate  trade  unions,  even  when 
loosely  affiliated  with  each  other  through  the  American  Fed- 
eration, cannot  effectively  cope  with  hostile  trusts  and  strong 
employers'  associations  except  in  those  cases  in  which  skill 
or  a  particularly  strategic  situation  gives  them  an  advanta- 
geous position.  Greater  solidarity  than  craft  unionism  gives 
is  necessary  to  cope  with  the  trust  employing  minutely  sub- 
divided labor. 

(The  AinericanJEederalion  of  Labor  is  a  federation  of  unions;^ 
the  individual  members  have  little  or  no  direct  relation  to  it. 
The  basic  unit  in  the  organization  is  the  local  union,  which 
includes  only  members  who  live  and  work  in  one  town.  The 
locals  are  required  to  join  the  national  union  in  their  trade. 
A  local  is  also  expected,  but  not  required,  to  affiliate  with  the 
central  labor  union  of  the  city  or  town  in  which  it  is  located 
and  the  state  federation,  if  one  is  organized  in  that  state;  and 
the  latter  bodies  may  not  admit  delegates  from  unions  not 
affiliated  with  the  Federation.  A  local  union  of  machinists 
in  Chicago,  for  example,  is  affiliated  with  the  International 

1  American  Journal  of  Sociology.     Vol.  13:  759.     (1908.) 
*  See  Chapter  VI. 


78     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

Association  of  Machinists,  the  Chicago  Federation  of  Labor, 
and  the  Illinois  Federation  of  Labor.  /The  national  trade 
union,  the  city  central  union  or  federation  of  labor,  and  the 
state  federation  are  each  in  turn  affiliated  with  the  American 
Federation  of  Labor .1  With  few  exceptions  local  unions  are 
affiliated  with  the  Federation  only  indirectly  through  a  na- 
tional union.  If  no  national  union  as  yet  exists,  the  local  may 
be  directly  affiliated  with  the  Federation.  A  "federal  labor 
union"  is  a  mixed  local  union;  such  bodies  are  sometimes 
formed  where  distinct  local  trade  unions  are  impracticable 
for  lack  of  numbers.  These  unions  are  "recruiting  stations." 
As  soon  as  a  sufficient  number  of  workers  of  one  trade  or  occu- 
pation are  gathered  into  a  federal  union  they  are  expected  to 
organize  a  separate  local.  The  federal  unions  are  affiliated 
directly  with  the  Federation,  the  national  unions  are  fed- 
erations composed  of  locals  in  a  given  trade.  The  author- 
ity and  duties  of  national  bodies  vary  greatly.  Some  national 
bodies  exercise  strict  control  over  the  locals;  others  have 
little  more  than  advisory  power.1  |  The  chief  purpose  of  the 
;  state  federations  is  political.  They  aim  to  secure  the  passage 
of  legislation  deemed  to  be  favorable  to  the  interests  of  wage 
earners,  and  to  defeat  hostile  legislation.  City  central  labor 
unions  are  founded  chiefly  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  "all 
organized  labor  in  the  city  to  act  promptly  in  emergencies,  and 
thus  mutually  help  each  other  in  labor  difficulties  by  bring- 
ing to  bear  at  once  the  combined  influence  of  all  labor  organ- 
izations to  effect  a  settlement."  No  city  central  labor  union, 
however,  has  the  right  to  inaugurate  a  strike  until  the  proper 
authorities  of  the  national  body  or  bodies  concerned  have 
given  their  consent.  City  central  labor  unions  frequently 
exert  considerable  political  influence  in  municipal  politics  and 
government;  and  they  aid  in  molding  public  sentiment  in 
favor  of  unions  and  of  unionism. 


1  The  government  of  the  locals  and  of  the  national  bodies  will  be  considered 
in  Chapter  VI. 


THE  PERIOD  OF  NATIONAL  ORGANIZATION          79 

In  1909  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  included  118 
national  and  international *  trade  unions,  39  state  federa- 
tions of  labor,  594  city  central  labor  unions,  564  "trade  and 
federal  labor  unions"  unaffiliated  with  a  national  or  inter- 
national body,  and  6  "fraternal  organizations."  /The  Fed- 
eration recognizes  the  ajitonomy  of  each  national  or  inter- x 
national  union;  and  the  ultimate  source  of  authority  in  the* 
organization  is  found  in  these  affiliated  bodies.  /At  the  annual 
convention  of  the  American  Federation  each  national  union 
is  allowed  one  delegate  for  each  four  thousand  paid-up  mem- 
bers, or  for  any  fraction  of  that  number.  )  For  example,  a 
national  union  having  three  thousand  members  would  be 
allowed  one  delegate;  if  the  membership  were  seven  thousand 
five  hundred,  it  would  be  allowed  two./  State  federations, 
city  central  unions,  federal  labor  unions,  and  local  unions 
having  no  national  union  may  send  one  delegate  each./  At 
the  1909  convention  14,383  out  of  a  total  of  14,497  votes 
were  accredited  to  the  national  and  international  bodies. 
The  13  trade  and  federal  labor  unions  were  allowed  25  votes. 
( The  officers  of  the  Federation  are  elected  at  the  annual  con- 
vention. They  consist  of  a  president,  eight  vice-presidents, 
a  secretary,  and  a  treasurer.  These  officers  also  constitute 
the  executive  council.  The  term  of  office  is  one  year.y  The 
headquarters  of  the  Federation  are  located  in  Washington, 
D.C. 

According  to  its  constitution,  the  chief  purposes  of  the 
American  Federation  of  Labor  are  to  knit  the  national  and 
international  labor  unions  together  for  mutual  assistance,  to 
encourage  the  sale  of  union  label  articles,  to  secure  legislation 
favorable  to  the  interests  of  the  working  people,  to  influence 
public  opinion  in  favor  of  organized  labor,  to  aid  and  encour- 

1  There  is  no  marked  difference  between  a  national  and  an  international 
union.  The  latter  has  locals  in  Canada  and  Mexico  as  well  as  in  the  United 
States.  A  national  body  may  also  have  outside  locals. 


8o     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

age  the  labor  press,  and  to  aid  in  the  formation  of  local  unions. 
The  revenue  of  the  Federation  is  derived  from  a  per  capita 
assessment  upon  the  members  of  all  affiliated  bodies,  y  Inter- 
national and  national  unions  pay  one-half  of  one  cent  per 
member  per  month;  local  trade  unions  and  federal  labor 
unions  pay  ten  cents  per  member  per  month,  but  one-half  of 
this  amount  must  be  set  aside  to  be  used  only  in  case  of  a 
strike  or  lockout;  city  central  unions  and  state  federations 
pay  ten  dollars  per  year.  The  executive  council  of  the  Fed- 
eration has  the  power  to  levy  one  cent  per  member  per  week 
on  all  affiliated  unions,  for  a  period  of  not  more  than  ten 
weeks,  for  the  support  of  an  affiliated  national  union  en- 
gaged in  a  strike.  During  the  period  1881  to  1886  inclu- 
sive, the  annual  income  of  the  Federation  varied  from  $125 
to  $690.  In  1890  it  was  $23,849;  in  1900,  $71,126;  and  in 
1909,  $232,378.  The  receipts  for  1909  were  exceeded  only 
by  those  of  1903;  in  the  latter  year  the  receipts  were 
$247,803.  The  expenditures  for  the  year  1909  were  $203,702; 
of  which  $41,852  was  spent  to  aid  the  United  Hatters.  The 
secretary's  report  shows  that  the  various  unions  affiliated 
with  the  Federation  gave  "donations  to  other  unions"  during 
the  year  amounting  to  $205,441. 

The  aims,  ideals,  and  government  of  the  Federation  are 
almost  diametrically  opposite  to  those  of  the  Knights  of 
Labor.  The  former  is  a  federation  of  trade  unions,  although 
some  industrial  unions  are  now  included.  Theoretically  the 
Federation  favors  a  trade  union  rather  than  an  industrial 
union;  but  in  practice  its  policy  has  been  opportunist.  If  a 
strong  organization  like  the  United  Mine  Workers  or  the 
Brewery  Workers  has  demanded  that  it  be  allowed  to  organ- 
ize all  workers  in  the  industry,  the  Federation  has  yielded  to 
the  pressure.  The  authority  of  the  Federation  officials  is  not 
great.  A  highly  centralized  organization  like  the  Knights  of 
Labor  is  able  to  exert  political  power  more  effectively  than  a 


THE  PERIOD   OF  NATIONAL  ORGANIZATION         8 1 

decentralized  federation  of  trade  unions.  Until  recently  the 
Federation  has  refrained  from  partisan  political  activity;  but 
bitter  opposition  is  forcing  it  into  politics.1  The  American 
Federation  of  Labor  has  made  no  attempt  to  organize  co- 
operative establishments.  An  industrial  union  or  such  an 
organization  as  the  Knights  of  Labor,  including  many  differ- 
ent kinds  of  craftsmen,  is  structurally  well  qualified  to  start 
cooperative  enterprises;  but  a  weak  federation  of  trade  unions 
is  not. 

In  principle,  the  Knights  of  Labor  opposed  the  use  of  the 
strike  and  favored  the  resort  to  arbitration.  In  1880  it  was 
officially  declared  that  "strikes  are  as  a  rule  productive  of 
more  injury  than  benefit  to  the  working  people,  consequently 
all  attempts  to  foment  strikes  will  be  discouraged. "  But  as 
the  order  grew,  resorts  to  strikes  became  frequent.  In  that 
organization,  centrally  controlled,  a  strike  could  be  enlarged 
into  a  general  strike  of  all  of  the  employees  of  a  given  estab- 
lishment. On  the  other  hand,  the  American  Federation  has 
consistently  maintained  that  the  strike,  the  boycott,  and  the 
unfair  list  are  legitimate  and  necessary  weapons  of  organized 
labor;  but  being  only  an  advisory  body,  positive  and  direct 
action  cannot  emanate  from  it.  Strikes  may  be  ordered  by 
one  trade  against  a  given  employer,  and  other  craftsmen 
affiliated  with  the  strikers  through  the  Federation  may  con- 
tinue to  work  for  the  same  employer. 

The  1910  convention  of  the  American  Federation  showed 
symptoms  of  increasing  sympathy  for  industrial  unionism. 
In  1910  it  was  officially  announced  that  the  Western  Federa- 
tion of  Miners  had  voted  to  apply  for  affiliation  with  the 
American  Federation.  When  the  application  of  the  Western 
Federation  was  presented  at  the  1910  convention,  considerable 
opposition  was  manifested  by  the  representatives  of  certain 
old  line  trade  unions.  The  matter  was  referred  to  the  execu- 
1  See  Chapter  XVIII. 


82      HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

tive  committee,  which  decided  in  January,  1911,  to  issue  a 
charter  to  the  Western  Federation.  It  is  expected  that,  with 
the  United  Mine  Workers,  the  Western  Federation  will  form 
an  industrial  department  for  the  purpose  of  uniting  all  workers 
in  and  about  the  mines.  Such  a  consummation  would  be  a 
distinct  step  toward  industrial  unionism  under  the  auspices 
of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor. 

The  Industrial  Workers  of  the  World.  ^This  is  a  frankly 
socialistic  labor  organization.  Its  ambitious  aim  is  to  unite 
all  of  the  workers  of  the  nation  into  an  industrial  union.  J  Its 
problem  is  to  construct  a  union  by  means  of  which  the  workers 
will  be  able  simultaneously  to  cease  working  in  one,  several, 
or  even  all  industries.  The  leaders  of  this  organization  de- 
clare that  unions  grouped  according  to  trades  cannot  cope 
with  large  organizations  of  capital.  The  American  Federa- 
tion, like  the  English  trade  unions,  accepts  the  present  indus- 
trial order  and  is  trying  to  get  good  wage  bargains  from  the 
employers;  the  Industrial  Workers  of  the  World  demand 
the  abolition  of  the  wages  system  and  the  elimination  of  the 
employer.  This  organization  was  formed  in  1905.  Soon 
after  its  formation,  a  bitter  factional  fight  occurred.  For  a 
time,  a  dual  organization  existed.  Finally  the  constitution 
was  modified  with  the  hope,  it  is  said,  of  reducing  the  oppor- 
tunity for  the  would-be  leader  to  make  trouble.  In  August, 
1910,  the  secretary- treasurer  stated  that  the  paid-up  member- 
ship was  5,863.  The  financial  resources  were  inconsiderable. 
"Our  policy,"  wrote  the  secretary,  "is  not  to  have  any  as 
far  as  that  is  concerned,  as  we  do  not  ever  intend  to  have  a 
treasury  built  up  that  will  be  an  invitation  for  the  employing 
class  to  confiscate." 

The  Industrial  Workers  may  be  compared  with  the  Knights 
of  Labor  shorn  of  their  idealism  and  saturated  with  class- 
conscious  socialism.  The  government  of  this  organization 
is,  like  that  of  the  Knights  of  Labor,  highly  centralized.  The 


THE  PERIOD  OF  NATIONAL  ORGANIZATION          83 

government  is  in  the  hands  of  the  annual  convention  and  a 
general  executive  board,  subject,  however,  to  a  referendum 
to  the  entire  membership.  The  general  executive  board  or 
the  convention  may  order  a  strike  and  the  board  may  call 
out  any  other  unions  if  it  is  deemed  advisable.  The 
scheme  of  organization  is  similar  to  the  plan  of  an  indus- 
trial establishment.  In  the  case  of  a  large  steel  plant 
employing  several  thousands  of  workers,  an  industrial  union 
would  be  formed  in  which  all  the  workers  of  the  plant  would 
be  gathered.  As  the  plant  is  divided  into  departments,  the 
union  would  be  divided  into  branches.  The  workers  in  one 
department  would  be  gathered  into  one  branch;  but  the 
branches  are  to  be  strictly  subordinate  to  the  union  cover- 
ing the  entire  establishment.  Craft  lines  are  entirely  oblit- 
erated, and  a  departmental  grouping  is  adopted.  In  the 
sewing-machine  industry,  for  example,  the  Industrial  Workers 
propose  to  group  all  workers  in  the  various  factories,  — 
woodworkers,  machinists,  coremakers,  molders,  and  so  on, 
into  one  industrial  union  of  sewing-machine  workers.  Indus- 
trial unions  in  a  large  number  of  plants  located  in  a  given 
geographical  district  may  be  grouped  into  a  district  council. 
Industrial  unions  may  be  also  united  in  departments.  The 
Department  of  Metal  and  Machinery  Industries  would 
include  blast-furnace  workers,  locomotive  builders,  agricul- 
tural implement  makers,  and  many  others.  The  functions  of 
the  district  councils  and  of  the  departments  are  adminis- 
trative; these  bodies  are  distinctly  subordinate  to  the  will  of 
the  entire  membership  as  expressed  through  the  annual  con- 
vention and  the  executive  board. 

Such  are  the  general  outlines  of  the  comprehensive  scheme 
prepared  by  this  embryonic  organization.  The  advocates  of 
industrial  unionism  point  out  that  this  scheme  corresponds  to 
the  facts  of  modern  industry.  Craft  unionism  was  adapted 
to  small  scale  industry  in  the  days  preceding  concentration 


84     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

and  integration  in  industry;  but  is  obsolete  at  the  present 
time.  The  employing  corporation  today  controls  a  variety 
of  workers  of  various  crafts,  skilled  and  unskilled.  Labor 
organizations,  the  argument  runs,  must  likewise  include  in 
one  compact  union  all  the  skilled  and  unskilled  workers  em- 
ployed by  that  corporation.  In  the  case  of  a  labor  dispute, 
an  industrial  union  could  paralyze  a  given  industry.  All 
workers  could  be  simultaneously  called  out.  The  Industrial 
Workers  of  the  World  care  little  about  recognition  of  the 
union;  they  object  to  signing  wage  contracts  with  their  em- 
ployers which  will  in  any  way  interfere  with  the  sympathetic 
strike  or  with  the  right  to  strike  at  an  opportune  moment; 
and  they  emphasize  the  idea  of  the  solidarity  of  all  wage 
earners. 

Women's  Trade  Unions.  Women  are  admitted  to  mem- 
bership in  many  trade  unions  affiliated  with  the  American 
Federation  of  Labor.  In  some  cases,  separate  locals  are  main- 
tained; in  others,  both  men  and  women  belong  to  the  same 
local.  A  large  percentage  of  the  members  of  the  glove  makers' 
union  are  women;  and  a  larger  percentage  of  the  women 
workers  in  that  industry  were  organized  in  1905  than  of  the 
men  workers.  In  1903  the  National  Women's  Trade  Union 
League  was  organized,  and  since  that  time  several  city  leagues 
subordinate  to  the  national  body  have  been  formed.  The 
national  body  is  endorsed  by  the  American  Federation  of 
I  Labor.  Its  platform  is,  in  brief:  "Organization  of  all 
I  workers  into  trade  unions.  Equal  pay  for  equal  work.  An 
eight-hour  day.  A  minimum  wage  scale.  Full  citizenship 
for  women.  All  principles  involved  in  the  economic  program 
of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor. "  The  national  body 
and  the  city  leagues  work  in  harmony  with  the  American 
Federation  of  Labor;  to  which  they  are  really  auxiliaries. 
The  Chicago  Woman's  Trade  Union  League  admits  as  mem- 
bers local  trade  unions  with  women  members  and  individual 


THE  PERIOD  OF  NATIONAL  ORGANIZATION         85 

trade  unionists  in  good  standing.  Men  and  women  who 
sympathize  with  the  purposes  of  the  league  may  be  admitted 
as  allies.  In  1910  thirty- two  trade  unions  were  affiliated 
with  the  Chicago  League.  This  league  emphasizes  certain 
educational  and  social  activities.  The  Teachers'  Federation 
of  Chicago  has  been  affiliated  with  the  American  Federation 
for  several  years;  and  in  1910  the  teachers  of  Buffalo  followed 
the  example  set  by  those  of  Chicago.  In  the  latter  city,  this 
step,  which  brings  professional  men  and  women  into  a  labor 
union,  was  caused  primarily  by  a  movement  toward  extreme 
centralization  of  authority  in  school  matters.  The  teachers 
did  not  desire  to  be  autocratically  and  arbitrarily  controlled 
by  the  superintendent  of  schools. 

Employers'  Associations.  Capitalists  combine  in  a  variety 
of  forms,  — (associations,  exchanges,  pools^_corporations,  and 
trusts.^  These  forms  have  developed  under  the  pressure  of 
competition  and  opposition  as  measures  of  self-defense.  They 
frequently  have  become  monopolies  inimical  to  the  general 
public.  These  various  associations  of  capitalists  use  methods 
similar  to  those  used  by  labor  organizations  in  admitting  and 
rejecting  members.  Each  boycotts,  uses  spies  or  pickets, 
strives  to  regulate  output,  and  to  fix  minimum  wages  or  prices. 
The  so-called  employers'  association  is  merely  one  form  of 
organization,  of  capitalists^  or  employers.  The  pool,  associa- 
tion, or  trust  is  formed  to  deal  with  all  sorts  of  technical  and 
financial  matters,  —  buying,  producing,  and  marketing.  The 
employers'  association  is  a  combination  of  business  establish- 
ments for-  the  ^rjress_purrjQS£_  of  dealing  with  or  fighting 
labor  organizations.  It  is  merely  a  special  form  of  capitalis- 
tic organization.  Local  and  national  employers'  associations 
have  appeared  simultaneously  with  local  and  national  or- 
ganizations of  wage  earners. 

United  and  concerted  efforts  on  the  part  of  wage  workers 
lead  to  the  unification  of  the  employees  and  vice  versa. 


86      HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

During  the  trade  union  activity  of  the  thirties  and  of  the 
sixties,  small  and  ephemeral  employers'  associations  appeared 
to  oppose  the  labor  organizations.  Like  the  labor  unions  of 
those  decades,  the  associations  of  employers  were  usually 
local  and  not  controlled  by  a  strong  central  authority.  They 
were  organized  only  when  labor  was  temporarily  well  organ- 
ized and  aggressive.  With  the  weakening  of  the  union's 
strength,  the  bonds  which  held  the  competing  employers 
together  were  broken.  Strong  and  permanent  employers' 
associations  come  into  being  contemporaneously  with  national 
and  permanent  labor  organizations.  Indeed,  an  extensive 
system  of  collective  bargaining  or  of  trade  agreements  pre- 
supposes an  organization  of  both  employers  and  employees. 
Employers'  associations  are  of  two  rather  distinct  types. 

rOne  class  is  organized  in  order  to  bargain  successfully  with 
the  organizations  of  their  employees.  This  style  of  associa- 
tion recognizes  labor  organizations  to  be  legitimate  and  seeks 
to  work  more  or  less  in  harmony  with  them.  The  second 
//class  is  bitterly  antagonistic  to  labor  organizations.  Although 
usually  declaring  that  they  are  favorable  to  "legitimate" 
labor  organizations,  the  members  of  the  second  class  of  em- 
ployers' associations  are  actually  opposed  to  the  practices 
which  the  average  unionist  holds  essential  to  the  success  of 
organized  labor.  They  favor  unions  of  the  weak  type  which 
do  not  strenuously  strive  to  shorten  the  working  day  or  to 
raise  wages,  that  is,  they  favor  a  union  which  does  not  inter- 
fere with  large  profits  and  which  teaches  contentment  with 
existing  conditions.  The  firstjtvjgie  aims  to  check  the  abuses 
and  excesses  of  organized  labor;  the  second  is  hostile  to  the 
fundamental  principles  of  unionism  and  wishes  to  extirpate 
or  emasculate  unionism.  The  trust  or  large  corporation 
does  not  need  to  enter  an  employers'  association;  it  is  itself 
virtually  such  an  association.  Our  great  railway  systems 
may  be  placed  in  the  first  class  of  associations.  The  United 


THE  PERIOD  OF  NATIONAL  ORGANIZATION         87 

Steel  Corporation  must  be  placed  with  thej^union  smashing" 
associations. 

(  As  long  as  wages  and  conditions  of  labor  are  fixed  by  means 
of  a  bargain  between  the  employers  and  their  employees,  a 
strong  union  should  be  balanced  by  a  strong  employers'  asso- 
ciation. )A  strong  organization  of  either  employers  or  employ- 
ees, if  unchecked  by  an  opposing  organization,  will  inevitably 
make  unreasonable  and  excessive  demands.  'Opposition  puri- 
fies a  political  party,  and  it  improves  the  character  of  an 
association  of  employers  or  of  wage  workers.  Since  the  first 
class  of  associations  is  formed  to  treat  with  labor  organiza- 
tions and  to  check  the  arrogance  of  unopposed  trade  union- 
ism, its  members  consider  the  employment  of  labor  to  be  a 
simple  business  proposition.  The  first  important  national 
association  of  employers  was  the  United  States  Potters'  Asso- 
ciation, formed  in  1875.  The  Stove  Founders'  National  De- 
fence Association  was  organized  in  1886.  The  success  of 
this  association  in  making  formal  wage  contracts  with  the 
employees  engaged  in  the  stove  industry1  stimulated  the 
formation  of  other  comprehensive  associations  of  employers. 
The  National  Founders'  Association  was  formed  in  1898, 
the  Dock  Managers'  Association  in  the  same  year,  and  the 
National  Metal  Trades'  Association  in  1899.  This  class  of 
organization  was  perhaps  most  prominent  in  the  middle  of 
the  first  decade  of  this  century.  In  1905,  "in  the  seven  great 
industries  of  stove  and  furnace  manufacturing,  metal  foundry 
work,  lake  transportation,  machine  construction,  publishing 
and  printing,  marble  cutting,  and  ready-made  clothing  manu- 
facturing, strong  national  associations  "treated  with  simi- 
larly organized  unions  of  employees,  and  drew  up  contracts 
relative  to  the  condition  of  labor  in  the  respective  industries." 2 
In  addition,  many  localized  associations  exist,  such  as  the 

1  See  Chapter  IX. 

1  Willoughby,  Quarterly  Journal  of  Economics.    Vol.  20:  115-116. 


88      HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

association  of  coal  operators  which  treats  with  the  United 
Mine  Workers,  and  the  various  employers'  associations  in 
the  building  trades.  Since  the  middle  of  the  last  decade, 
the  progress  of  collective  bargaining  on  a  large  scale  has 
suffered  several  serious  checks. 

Associations  of  this  class  are  federated  organizations  not 
dissimilar  in  type  to  those  of  labor  organizations.  "Almost 
every  important'  feature  of  trade-union  organization  finds  its 
counterpart  in  the  employers'  organizations."  Each  has  a 
defense  fund;  each  controls  more  or  less  rigidly  its  members; 
each  employs  business  agents  called  walking  delegates  or 
commissioners;  each  is  organized  along  trade  lines  into  local 
and  national  bodies;  and  in  each  the  individual  on  becoming 
a  member  must  surrender  in  a  large  measure  his  right  to 
determine  the  conditions  under  which  his  work  as  employer 
or  employee  will  be  performed.1  It  has  been  pointed  out 
that  two  large  opposing  associations,  controlling  an  entire 
industry,  might  unite,  raise  prices,  and  divide  the  plunder 
between  themselves;  but  the  usual  effect  is  to  transfer  com- 
petition from  price-cutting  and  wage-slashing  to  competition 
in  regard  to  the  quality  of  the  product.2 

The  class  of  organization  hostile  to  organized  labor  is  rep- 
resented by  such  national  bodies  as  the  National  .Assoeitrtion 
of  Manufacturers  and  its  affiliated  organization,  the  Citi- 
zens' Industrial  Association  of  America,  and  by  such  local 
associations  as  the  Battle  Creek  Business  Men's  Association, 
the  Dayton  Employers'  Association,  and  many  other  "citi- 
zens' alliances"  in  various  cities.  The  National  Association 
of  Manufacturers  was  first  organized  in  1895  for  the  chief 
purpose  of  building  up  export  trade  in  manufactured  goods. 
In  1901  it  began  to  turn  a  portion  of  its  energies  to  opposing 

1  Willoughby,  ibid.,  pp.  143-150. 

2  Contrast  Baker,  "Capital  and  Labor  Hunt  Together,"  in  McCliirc's  Maga- 
zine for  September,  1903,  with  the  section  on  Trade  Agreements  in  Chapter  IX. 


THE  PERIOD  OF  NATIONAL  ORGANIZATION         89 

labor  measures.  In  1910  its  president  and  official  journal, 
American  Industries,  were  bitterly  antagonistic  to  labor 
organizations.  This  association  includes  in  its  membership 
many  of  the  representative  manufacturing  companies  of  the 
country.  In  1903,  because  some  of  the  members  of  this  asso- 
ciation were  unwilling  to  allow  the  major  portion  of  its  atten- 
tion to  be  devoted  to  fighting  organized  labor,  the  Citizens' 
Industrial  Association  was  formed.  This  body  is  composed 
of  national,  district,  and  local  employers'  associations.  The 
"platform  of  principles"  of  this  association  reads  as  follows: 
"no  closed  shop,  no  restriction  as  to  the  use  of  tools,  machin- 
ery, or  material  except  such  as  are  unsafe.  No  limitation  of 
output.  No  restriction  as  to  the  number  of.  apprentices  and 
helpers,  when  of  proper  age.  No  boycott,  no  sympathetic 
strike.  No  sacrifice  of  independent  workmen  to  the  labor 
union.  No  compulsory  use  of  the  union  label. "  The  decla- 
ration of  "labor  principles"  adopted  by  the  National  Asso- 
ciation of  Manufacturers  voices  the  same  sentiments.  These 
two  organizations  do  not  represent  the  largest  trusts  in  the 
country;  their  membership  is  drawn  from  the  industries  which 
are  still  in  the  process  of  concentration.  The  pronuncia- 
mentos  of  their  leaders  are  not  new;  they  only  reecho  those 
of  employers'  associations  of  past  decades.  For  example,  in 
1864  the  Iron  Founders'  Association  of  Chicago  and  vicinity 
declared  in  a  circular:  "But  when  employees  seek  to  enter 
the  sphere  of  employers  and  to  dictate  to  them  in  the  manage- 
ment of  their  business,  it  becomes  not  only  the  rigid,  but  the 
d/ufaf>i  employers  to  check  and  suppress  such  movements  by 
any  lawful  means. "  The  present  leaders  tell  us  that  unions 
are  a  menace  to  American  institutions  when  they  insist  upon 
the  closed  shop,  or  use  the  "un-American"  boycott,  and  that 
organized  labor  is  trampling  "in  the  dust  the  natural  and 
constitutional  rights  of  our  citizens."  They  are,  however, 
willing  to  concede  that  a  conservative  union  such  as  the 


go     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers  is  not  an  undesirable 
organization. 

The  Battle  Creek  Business  Men's  Association  is  a  good 
example  of  a  local  citizens'  alliance.  It  was  organized  origi- 
nally to  prevent  the  formation  of  trade  unions  in  that  city; 
and  "to  energetically  assist  in  maintaining  law  and  order  at 
all  times  and  under  all  conditions. "  The  organization  desires 
to  include  in  its  membership  other-eitizens  than  employers. 
One  of  the  purposes  of  the  organization  is  to  Boom  Battle 
Creek.  It  has  issued  a  folder  telling  about  the  advantages  of 
the  city  as  a  manufacturing  center.  In  a  prominent  place 
appears  the  following  statement  under  the  heading,  "In- 
dustrial Peace":  Factories  are  principally  absolutely  non- 
union, and  the  citizens  "will  not  permit  labor  union  dictation." 
According  to  the  report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  of 
Michigan,  for  1909,  the  average  wages  paid  to  adult  male 
factory  workers  was  higher  in  Battle  Creek  than  in  any  other 
city  in  Michigan  of  over  25,000  inhabitants.  But  in  one  of 
the  large  factories  controlled  by  a  man  prominent  in  the  anti- 
union  movement,  day  men  work  eleven  hours  and  night  men 
thirteen  out  of  the  twenty-four. 

In  1910  an  attempt  was  made  in  Battle  Creek  to  organize 
a  National  "Trades  and  Workers'  Association"  and  subordi- 
nate branch  associations.  The  membership  of  the  locals  was 
to  consist  not  merely  of  wage  earners,  but  of  "white  men  and 
women  workers  in  all  walks  of  life. "  This  association  was  to 
promote  harmonious  and  friendly  relationships  between  em- 
ployer and  employee.  Strikes,  lockouts,  boycotts,  and  black- 
lists were  tabooed.  A  board  of  mediation  was  provided  to 
settle  cases  of  labor  disputes.  The  animus  of  the  new  organ- 
ization is  revealed  in  the  following  clause  of  the  constitution, 
"in  case  employers  will  not  abide  by  the  decision  of  the 
committee  [appointed  by  the  board  of  mediation],  then  no 
more  than  five  per  cent,  of  the  members  of  the  local  organiza- 


THE  PERIOD  OF  NATIONAL  ORGANIZATION         91 

tion  affected  shall  be  permitted  to  resign  their  position  each 
day,  and  seek  other  employment,  but  no  general  strike,  boy- 
cott, coercion,  or  picketing  will  be  permitted. "  The  employee 
is  to  give  up  the  right  to  strike;  but  the  employer  evidently 
clings  to  the  right  to  discharge  employees  and  cannot  be 
coerced  into  accepting  the  decisions  of  the  board  of  media- 
tion. The  promoters  of  this  exotic  labor  organization  have 
clearly  comprehended  the  fact  that  the  collective  bargain  is 
essential  to  forceful  unionism.  Such  a  scheme  might  not 
be  distasteful  to  men  protected  by  the  conditions  of  employ- 
ment as  are  the  locomotive  engineers,  or  the  employees  of  a 
monopolistic  concern  which  consistently  follows  the  practice 
of  paying  good  wages;  but  employees  facing  the  menace  of 
the  immigrant,  of  child  labor,  of  the  machine,  or  of  hostile 
employers  cannot  be  expected  to  grow  enthusiastic  when 
contemplating  the  merits  of  this  organization. 

The  increasing  opposition  to  labor  organizations  manifested 
in  recent  years  and  the  development  of  hostile  employers' 
associations  have  led  to  the  formation  of  businesses  devoted 
to  strike  breaking.  It  is  difficult  to  ascertain  the  extent  of 
this  anti-union  industry;  but  certainly  establishments  exist 
that  stand  ready  to  furnish  strike  breakers  and  union  spies. 
One  company  advertised  in  a  circular  sent  out  a  few  years 
ago  that  "  this  company  makes  a  specialty  of  furnishing  union 
and  non-union  men  and  women  of  all  trades  for  secret  service 
work."  It  offered  to  place  men  in  a  plant  for  $150  to  $175 
per  month  minus  the  ordinary  wages  to  be  paid  to  the  men 
on  the  regular  pay  days.  According  to  this  circular,  men  of 
good  standing  in  trade-union  circles  could  be  furnished. 
Reports  are  to  be  regularly  made  in  regard  to  disaffection  in 
a  plant  and  the  activities  of  union  men.  In  this  way,  "dis- 
turbers of  the  peace  are  located";  and  presently  they  may 
be  quietly  discharged.  Another  company  offered  to  furnish 
experienced  guards,  to  provide  non-union  workmen,  to  pro- 


92      HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

vide  cooks,  waiters,  and  managers  for  temporary  boarding 
houses  inside  of  plants  furnished  with  strike  breakers. 

This  crude  and  coercive  method  of  fighting  unions  is  by 
no  means  the  only  way  in  which  excessive  union  activity  and 
the  growth  of  labor  solidarity  may  be  checked.  Until  recent 
decades  cheap  land  and  the  ever-present  possibility  or  proba- 
bility that  the  employee  might  become  a  small  employer, 
were  effective  means  of  alienating  the  ambitious  and  the  force- 
ful workers  from  enthusiastic  and  continuous  adherence  to 
the  policies  of  trade  unionism.  With  the  disappearance  of 
the  frontier  and  with  the  concentration  of  wealth  and  of  the 
control  of  business  affairs  into  the  hands  of  a  comparatively 
small  number  of  persons,  and  with  the  increasing  prevalence 
of  routine  and  regularity  in  industry,  not  only  were  the  tra- 
ditional outlets  for  the  ambitious  wage  earners  closed,  but 
many  who  under  a  more  crude  economy  would  have  been 
small  business  men  are  now  in  ranks  of  wage  earners.  Saga- 
cious captains  of  industry,  not  however  of  the  type  found  in 
the  union-smashing  employers'  associations,  soon  recognized 
that  a  substitute  outlet  must  be  provided,  or  they  would  soon 
be  forced  to  confront  strong  unions  managed  by  talented, 
devoted,  and  class-conscious  leaders.  Professor  Commons 
insists  that  promotion  and  political  preferment  are  the  im- 
portant outlets  for  the  ambitious  and  the  radical;  these  are 
the  solvents  of  class  solidarity  among  the  workers.  (fThe  man 
who  is  being  gradually  promoted,  or  who  sees  dangling  before 
his  eyes  a  political  job,  is  furnished  with  a  potent  incentive 
for  conservatism.  "Thus  it  is  that  a  wise  system  of  promo- 
tion becomes  another  branch  of  industrial  psychology.  If 
scientifically  managed,  as  is  done  by  the  great  corporations, 
it  produces  a  steady  evaporation  of  class  feeling.  I  have 
often  come  upon  fiery  socialists  and  ardent  trade  unionists 
thus  vaporized  and  transformed  by  this  elevating  process. " 1 J 

1  Commons,  American  Journal  of  Sociology.     Vol.  13  :  761. 


THE  PERIOD  OF  NATIONAL  ORGANIZATION         93 

But  can  this  process  long  continue  to  be  an  efficient  and 
effective  check  upon  agitation?  The  great  corporation  can 
offer  choice  prizes  to  only  a  chosen  few.  The  public  school 
is  constantly  training  the  masses.  Many  well  educated  and 
ambitious  young  men  are  forced  into  a  routine  from  which 
there  seems  little  chance  of  escape.  The  wreck  of  the  small 
business  serves  to  add  to  the  ranks  of  the  workers.  That 
promotion  and  political  preferment  can  much  longer  hold 
down  the  lid  on  labor  agitation  and  hold  back  the  growth  of 
strong  and  compact  labor  organizations  seems  doubtful.  In 
the  past,  the  immigrant  and  woman  wage  earners  have  "un- 
dermined" class  solidarity  among  the  wage  workers;  but  in 
recent  months  the  immigrant  and  the  woman  worker  have 
shown  unmistakable  signs  of  a  growing  consciousness  of  class 
solidarity.1  The  statement  of  a  railway  official  before  a 
class  of  college  students  is  indicative  of  the  growing  ineffec- 
tiveness of  promotion  as  a  method  of  alienating  ambitious 
men  from  their  unions.  In  the  past,  said  the  railway  man, 
it  has  been  the  practice  of  all  American  railways  to  promote 
their  own  men  to  higher  positions  in  the  service;  but  recently 
they  are  beginning  to  look  elsewhere.  "It  takes  a  great 
many  years  of  close  touch  with  .  .  .  the  managing  depart- 
ment to  fit  any  employee  for  an  executive  position,  and  with 
the  situation  as  it  is  today,  no  employee  could  consistently 
follow  out  such  a  line  of  endeavor  without  becoming  estranged 
from  his  union.  But  when  loyalty  to  union  takes  precedence 
of  loyalty  to  the  railroads,  our  supply  of  capable  men  is  cut 
off."2 

1  Compare  Commons,  "Is  Class  Conflict  in  America  Growing  and  is  it 
Inevitable?  "  American  Journal  of  Sociology.  Vol.  13 :  756-766,  with  the  writer's 
article,  "The  New  Idealism,"  La  Follette's  Magazine.  April  30,  1910. 

*  Atlantic  Monthly,  April,  1909,  p.  545. 


94      HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

REFERENCES   FOR   FURTHER  READING 

Report  of  the  Industrial  Commission.     Vol.  17  :  1-422. 
Wright,  Industrial  Evolution  of  the  United  States.     Ch.  20. 
Hollander  and  Barnett,  Studies  in  American  Trade  Unionism.     Ch.  12. 
Aldrich,  "The  American  Federation  of  Labor,"  Economic  Studies. 
Vol.  3,  No.  4  (A.  E.  A.) 

Powderly,  Thirty  Years  of  Labor. 

Types  of  Trade  Unions 

Commons,  "  The  Longshoremen  of  the  Great  Lakes,  "  Quarterly  Jour- 
nal of  Economics.  Vol.  20  :  59-85. 

Commons,  "Musicians  of  St.  Louis  and  New  York,"  ibid.     Vol.  20: 
.419-442. 

Cease,  "Organizations  of  Railway  Employees,"  The  Outlook.  Vol. 
86:  503-510. 

Hard,  "The  Western  Federation  of  Miners,"  ibid.     Vol.83:  125-133. 

Herron,  "Labor  Organization  among  Women,"  Bulletin  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Illinois.  May,  1905. 

Schliiter,  The  Brewing  Industry  and  the  Brewery  Workers'  Movement 
in  America. 

Employers'  Associations 

Willoughby,  Quarterly  Journal  of  Economics.     Vol.  20:  110-150. 

Andrews,  The  Commons,  June,  1905. 

Mitchell,  Organized  Labor.     Ch.  22. 

Adams  and  Sumner,  Labor  Problems,  pp.  279-285. 

Gilman,  Methods  of  Industrial  Peace.     Ch.  3. 

Marcosson,  "Fight  for  the  Open  Shcp,"  World's  Work.  Vol.  n  : 
6955-65- 

The  National  Civic  Federation  Review,  October,  1905.  "  Combinations 
of  Labor  and  Capital." 


CHAPTER  VI 

GOVERNMENT  AND  POLICIES  OF  LABOR  ORGANIZATIONS 

Classification  of  Labor  Organizations.  Organizations  of  wage 
earners  may  be  technically  classified  as  (labor  unions,  trade 
unions,  and  industrial  unions.^  The  significance  of  the  labor 
union  is  chiefly  historical.  Into  the  labor  union  all  classes  of 
wage  earners  were  gathered;  and  employers  and  professional 
men  were  often  admitted.  The  labor  union  was  idealistic  or 
humanitarian  in  its  arms.  The  strike  and  the  boycott  were 
rarely  used;  but  reliance  was  placed  upon  land  reform^educa- 
tjon,  cooperation,  the  direction  of  public  opinion,  and  politi- 
cal activftyTThe  leaders  of  the  labor  union  were  wont  to 
make  much  of  the  point  that  the  interests  of  labor  and  capital 
were  fundamentally  harmonious;  and  that  betterment  came 
through  the  united  efforts  of  all  classes.  The  labor  congresses 
and  associations  of  the  forties  are  excellent  examples  of  this 
type  of  labor  organization.  The  Knights  of  Labor  might 
also  be  classified  as  a  labor  union.  The  existence  of  this  form 
of  organization  indicates  a  lack  of  class  consciousness  and  an 
absence  of  any  clear  idea  ofthe  solidarity  of  the  working  class 
or  of  any  section  of  it.  /The  trade  union  is  an  organization 
among  the  wage  earners  of  a  given  trade.  The  trade  union 
demands  the  system  of  collective^bargaining,  and  has  a 
concept  of  a  "fair  wage."  It  is  essentially  a  business  organ- 
ization formed  to  make  the  best  possible  bargain  with  em- 
ployers for  the  commodity  —  labor  power  —  which  it  offers 
for  sale.  Each  group  or  trade  bargains  independently  of  other 
groups  or  trades.  The  trade  union  stands  for  group  action 
rather  than  for  united  action  on  the  part  of  all  wage  earners 

95 


96      HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

irrespective  of  occupational  lines.  It  accepts  the  strike  and 
the  boycott  as  valuable  weapons;  and  it  usually  considers 
political  activity  to  be  of  doubtful  -value.  The  United  Broth- 
erhood of  Carpenters  and  Joiners  and  the  International  Typo- 
graphical Union  are  examples  of  trade  unions. 

The  most  recent  type  of  labor  organization  is  the  industrial 
union.  It  cuts  across  craft  lines  and  aims  to  unite  all  the 
workers  in  one  industry  into  a  coherent  and  centrally  con- 
trolled organization.  In  this  kind  of  organization,  the 
friction  due  to  overlapping  craft  jurisdictions  is  in  a  large 
measure  obviated.  When  an  industrial  union  orders  a  strike 
all  the  workers  in  a  given  establishment  strike  at  once  and 
share  in  the  expenses  and  in  the  benefits.  The  United  Mine 
Workers'  Union  and  the  International  Union  of  Brewery 
Workers  are  examples  of  industrial  unions.  These  organiza- 
tions wish  to  unite  all  the  crafts  working  in  the  mines  or  for 
a  brewing  company  into  one  organization.  The  skilled  and 
the  unskilled  are  knit  together.  The  advocates  of  industrial 
unionism  urge  that  it  is  more  important  to  unite  all  in  a  given 
industrial  group  than  to  unite  all  in  a  given  trade  but  scat- 
tered far  and  wide  throughout  the  nation.  The  most  radical 
form  of  industrial  unionism,  such  as  the  Industrial  Workers  of 
the  World  represents,  declares  that  labor  and  capital  have  no 
interests  in  common.  The  advocates  of  industrial  unionism 
assert  that  concentration  and  integration  of  industry  have 
made  trade  or  craft  unionism  obsolete. 

The  older  form  of  "labor  unions"  was  too  broad  in  its 
scope.  It  laid  too  much  stress  upon  the  humanitarian  aspect 
of  labor  problems;  it  was  too  altruistic  and  visionary,  and  not 
sufficiently  practical.  A  successful  and  permanent  labor 
movement  must  be  nourished  on  the  immediate,  the  practical, 
and  the  tangible,  — I that  is,  on  the  hope  of  higher  wages, 
shorter  working  days,  better  shop  conditions,  and  better 
homes,  rather  than  upon  high  ideals  of  the  brotherhood  of 


GOVERNMENT  AND   POLICIES  97 

man  and  the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest  number.}  In  the 
long  run,  altruism,  without  a  generous  admixture  of  egoism, 
does  not  provide  a  practical  foundation  for  a  labor  organiza- 
tion or  for  an  employers'  association.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  growth  in  the  number  of  the  unskilled  and  the  increased 
use  of  subdivision  of  labor  has  forced  the  trade  unionists  in 
some  industries  to  unite  with  the  unskilled  and  to  aid  the 
unskilled  in  fighting  his  battles.  The  skilled  man  fears  the 
encroachment  of  the  cheap  and  unorganized  workers.  He 
believes  in  organization  and  higher  wages  for  the  unskilled 
because  he  in  turn  will  be  benefited.  Even  the  trade  union 
is  becoming  the  union  of  the  unskilled  and  semi-skilled  as 
well  as  of  the  skilled.  The  egoism  of  the  skilled  man  is 
assuming  the  garb  of  altruism;  aid  rendered  the  unskilled  in 
the  end  often  benefits  the  skilled. 

Government  and  Structure.  The  methods  and  governmental 
policies  of  the  trade  unions  have  been  developed  to  meet  the 
exigences  of  an  opportunist  program.  Immediate^  results, 
results  here  and  now,  and  results  which  benefit  the  little  group 
directly  concerned,  are  desired  rather  than  indefinite,  post- 
poned, and  generally-participated-in  benefits.  The  average 
trade  unionist  may  have  high  ideals  as  to  the  betterment  of 
the  wage-earning  class  as  a  unit;  but  the  immediate  bread- 
and-butter  logic  turns  the  balance  when  a  concrete  situation 
which  demands  immediate  action  confronts  him.  The  suc- 
cessful labor  leader  is  the  exponent  of  "business  unionism"; 
he  is  the  man  who  gets  higher  wages,  a  shorter  working  day, 
and  the  like  for  his  group  of  followers  even  though  the  price 
of  success  must  be  paid  by  other  unionists  as  consumers  of 
the  products  made  by  the  members  of  the  first  group.  A  new 
unionism  which  actually  as  well  as  theoretically  emphasizes 
the  solidarity  of  labor,  and  which  looks  to  the  more  distant 
as  well  as  to  the  immediate  effects  of  a  policy,  may  be  coming 
above  the  horizon;  but  the  structure  of  the  unions  of  today 


98     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

and  the  way  in  which  they  function  are  the  products  of  the 
efforts  of  selfish  groups  that  do  not  look  far  into  the  future. 
The  predominant  form  of  labor  organization  is  still  trade  or 
craft  unionism;  but,  in  the  future,  industrial  unionism  must 
be  reckoned  with. 

Political  government  in  America  has  progressed  from  the 
local  and  decentralized  control  of  colonial  times  through  a 
period  of  control  by  a  weak  confederation,  to  a  form  of  federal 
government  in  which  the  central  government  is  growing  more 
powerful  absolutely  and  relatively.  Originally  the  federal 
government  was  created  by  the  states,  but  today  the  majority 
of  the  states  of  the  Union  owe  their  existence  to  direct  federal 
action.  A  striking  and  significant  parallel  can  be  drawn 
between  the  evolution  of  government  in  the  American  nation 
and  the  evolution  of  control  in  the  strong  American  labor 
organizations  of  today.  In  the  government  of  labor  organi- 
zations, the  original  governmental  unit  was  the  autonomous 
local  union  or  society.  The  locals  were  and  are  extremely 
democratic;  the  town  meeting  form  of  government  works  well 
since  all  members  of  the  locals  are  approximately  on  a  plane 
of  equality  in  regard  to  education,  income,  and  social  position. 
The  regular  meetings  of  the  locals  are  held  frequently,  and 
special  meetings  may  readily  be  called  if  any  question  of 
unusual  importance  arises.  The_  officejs-  are,  as  a  rule,  se- 
lected for  shortterms,  and  rotation  in  office  is  not  uncommon. 
The  only  office  in  connection  with  a  local  union  which  requires 
special  skill  is  that  of  the  business  agent  or  the  walking  dele- 
gate;  and  this  office  exists  In  only  a  comparatively  small 
number  of  locals.  This  officer  is  most  frequently  found  in  the 
building  trades.  The  business  agent  is  the  representative  of 
the  union  in  dealing  with  employers  in  regard  to  [wages,  the 
redress  of  grievances,  and  the  enforcement  of  union  rules.l 

The  history  of  the  evolution  of  governmental  power  in 
trade  unions  has  been  that  of  the  growth  of  a  national  organi- 


GOVERNMENT  AND   POLICIES  99 

zation  representing  centralized  power.  Originally  the  locals 
were  knit  together  into  loose  federations.  Annual  conventions 
were  held  to  which  delegates  from  the  federated  locals  were 
sent.  These  conventions  chose  the  national  officers  to  serve 
for  the  ensuing  year.  At  first  the  delegate  convention  was 
chiefly  for  the  purpose  of  discussion  and  to  bring  about  una- 
nimity of  action  among  the  workers  in  a  given  trade.  In  the 
early  stages  of  growth,  the  national  officers  were  given  little 
power;  and  the  funds  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  national 
bodies  were  small  in  amount.  The  locals  were  extremely 
jealous  of  their  prerogatives.  But  out  of  these  loose  federa- 
tions of  locals,  proud  of  their  autonomy,  have~~glradually 
emerged  powerful  national  bodies  with  considerable  incomes 
at  their  disposal;  and  their  strength  is  still  increasing.  The 
delegate  convention  is  no  longer  an  impotent  advisory  body; 
it  has  become  in  many  national  organizations  a  true  legis- 
lative body.  In  turn,  the  national  bodies  have  become 
propagandists  and  have  instituted  new  locals  under  their 
jurisdiction,  and  the  new  locals  are  more  readily  controlled 
than  were  the  older  ones.  However,  the  increase  in  the 
power  and  dignity  of  the  national  organizations  has  not 
come  without  encountering  friction  and  determined  opposi- 
tion. The  states'  rights  doctrine,  so  famous  in  American 
history,  has  its  counterpart  in  the  evolution  of  trade-union 
government. 

But  the  growing  intricacy  of  industrial  affairs,  the  enlarge- 
ment of  the  competitive  area,  the  increasing  mobility  of 
labor,  a  recognition  of  the  peculiar  efficiency  of  united  and 
simultaneous  action  on  the  part  of  .large  numbers,  the  gradual 
centralization  of  business  management,  and  the  increasing 
importance  to  labor  interests  of  financial  resources,  has 
forced  the  reluctant  locals  to  recognize  the  necessity  of  sub- 
ordination to  a  central  governmental  body.  This  movement 
toward  unification  has  gone  further  in  some  unions  than  in 


ioo    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

others;  and  consequently  there  is  only  a  small  measure  of 
uniformity  as  to  the  details  of  union  structure.  Practically 
all  national  labor  organizations  at  the  present  time  exercise 
legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  functions  in  regard  to  many 
matters  which  affect  the  subordinate  locals.  Usually,  how- 
ever, important  matters  are  subject  to  a  referendum  to  the 
entire  membership  or  to  the  portion  of  the  membership 
directly  concerned  with  the  proposed  legislation  or  policy. 
The  annual  convention  composed  of  delegates  from  locals 
is  the  legislature  or  congress  of  the  national  body;  the  presi- 
dent and  an  executive  council  exercise  executive  powers;  and 
the  judicial  function  is  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  president 
or  some  other  executive  officer,  usually  with  the  right  of  ap- 
peal to  the  executive  or  to  the  annual  convention  in  case  a 
local  or  some  group  of  members  is  dissatisfied  with  the  settle- 
ment of  some  disputed  question  or  with  the  interpretation  of 
some  rule  or  regulation.  The  militant  activities  in  connec- 
tion with  strikes,  boycotts,  and  the  like,  of  the  larger  and 
more  responsible  unions  at  least,  are  directed  by  the  national 
officers. 

The  differentiation  in  the  structure  and  government  of 
unions  is  the  result  of  a  multitude  of  interacting  and  often 
conflicting  forces,  —  such  as  the  progress  toward  integration 
in  industry,  opposition  on  the  part  of  employers,  the  menace 
of  child,  woman,  and  immigrant  labor,  the  payment  of  union 
benefits,  etc.  A  brief  study  of  eight  national  unions  is  pre- 
sented in  order  to  illustrate  in  a  concrete  manner  the  course  of 
progress  toward  centralization  in  the  government  of  labor 
organizations;  and  it  is  also  presented  because  by  this  method 
the  reasons  for  the  appearance  of  certain  peculiarities  in  the 
structure  and  government  of  such  bodies  may  be  partially 

disclosed. 

* 

The  International  Typographical  Union  affords  a  fairly 
clear  picture  of  progress  from  a  decentralized  to  a  strongly 


GOVERNMENT  AND   POLICIES  101 

centralized  form  of  government.  The  earliest  form  of  union 
organization  among  the  printers  was  purely  local.  The 
"chapel"  was  an  organization  of  printers" working  uTone  shop 
ororEce.  The  chapel  assemblies  were  mass  meetings.  In 
the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  associations  began 
to  be  formed  among  the  printers  working  in  a  city.  These 
were  organized  at  first  for  beneficiary  purposes,  and  later  in 
order  to  establish  and  maintain  a  uniform  wage  scale  and 
similar  working  conditions  throughout  an  entire  city.  The 
chapels  were  generally  subordinated  to  these  local  unions. 
(The  ultimate  control  of  the  local  unions  was  vested  in  a 
monthly  meeting  to  which  all  members  are  admitted.  /  In 
1851  a  permanent  national  organization  was  formed.  The 
central  body  was  at  that  time  given  little  authority  over 
the  subordinate  bodies.  The  government  was  decentralized; 
it  was  that  of  a  confederation.  The  members  of  the  national 
body  were  representatives  elected  by  the  locals.  Up  to  1869 
each  local  was  equally  represented  irrespective  of  the  number 
belonging  to  it.  After  ^869  numerical  representation  was 
adopted  in  the  face  of  the  opposition  of  the  small  locals. 
The  early  officers  had  few  executive  duties  to  perform,  and 
were  chosen  at  the  annual  convention  which  was  composed 
of  the  delegates  from  the  locals.  They  were  elected  for  a 
term  of  one  year  and  were  rarely  reflected.  In  thirty-five 
years  the  national  body  had  twenty-eight  presidents.  After 
1884  the  power  of  the  central  administrative  organization  was 
strengthened.  Since  1889  all  proposed  amendments  to  the 
constitution  and  all  laws  involving  increased  taxation  must 
be  submitted  to  a  referendum  vote  of  all  the  members  of  the 
local  unions.  In  1896  all  members  of  the  locals  were  made 
eligible  to  hold  office  in  the  national  organization;  and  the 
power  of  election  was  taken  from  the  convention  and  given 
to  the  membership  at  large.  Vfhe  establishment  of  the  print- 
ers' home,  the  provisions  for  death  and  strike  benefits,  and 


102     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

the  power  to  supervise  collective  bargaining  have  greatly 
increased  the  dignity  and  authority  of  the  central  government 
of  the  Typographical  Union.  _)  Within  three-score  years,  the 
national  organization  of  this  group  of  skilled  workers  has 
evolved  into  a  powerful  body  exercising  a  large  measure  of 
authority  over  the  locals  and  capable  of  conducting  success- 
fully a  bitterly  contested  strike.  No  strike  is  "legal"  unless 
sanctioned  by  the  officers  of  the  national  body.1 

In  the  Cigar  Makers'  International  Union,  the  process  of 
nationalizing  functions  has  proceeded  steadily;  year  after 
year  the  national  body  has  taken  under  its  control  matters 
which  had  hitherto  been  left  to  the  action  of  the  local  bodies. 
Supervisory  power  is  centralized  in  the  hands  of  the  President.  \ 
The  inauguration  of  an  extensive  system  of  benefits  for  mem- 
bers sick,  disabled,  or  out  of  work  was  one  of  the  potent 
means 'of  enabling  the  national  body  to  strengthen  its  grip 
upon  recalcitrant  locals.  The  funds  are  not  placed  in  the 
treasury  oT  the  International,  but  are  scattered  among  the 
several  locals.  The  accounts  of  each  local  are  carefully  super- 
vised by  the  "financier"  of  the  organization.  "The  finan- 
cier goes  from  locaTto  local,  generally  arriving  unexpectedly 
and  without  warning.  The  accounts  of  the  financial  secre- 
tary are  subject  to  a  vigorous  examination,  and  the  system  of 
administering  the  benefits  carefully  reviewed."  The  use  of 
the  union  label  has  also  been  a  factor  in  causing  this  impor- 
tant modification  of  structure.  The  first  fine  authorized  by 
the  constitution  of  the  Cigar  Makers'  Union  was  for  non- 
enforcement  of  the  rules  governing  the  use  of  the  label.  (Legis- 
lation by  convention  has  been  displaced  by  direct  legislation 
through  the  initiative  and  referendum^.  This  democratic 
method  of  legislating  is  less  expensive  than  the  convention 

1  Free  use  has  been  made  of  the  chapter  on  "The  Government  of  the  Typo- 
graphical Union,"  in  Hollander  and  Barnett's  Studies  in  American  Trade 
Unionism. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  POLICIES  103 

system.    The  election  of  officers  by  popular  vote,  however, 
involves  considerable  expense.1 

In  order  to  study  the  structure  of  government  required  to 
carry  out  the  policies  of  a  national  union  containing  skilled  and 
unskilled  men  of  a  variety  of  nationalities,  religious  beliefs 
and  political  affiliations,  and  bargaining  with  powerful  groups 
of  employers,  perhaps  no  better  example  can  be  chosen  than 
the  United  Mine  Workers  of  America.    This  organization  is 
composed  of  national,  district,  sub-district,  and  local  units. 
These  units  resemble  the  political  divisions,  —  nation,  state, 
county,  and  township,  municipality  or  ward.     All  questions 
of  importance  are  ultimately  referred  to  the  locals.     The  col- 
lective membership  nominates  and  elects  By  a  direct  vote 
the  three  leading  national  officers,  —  the  president,  the  vice- 
president,    and    the    secretajy-lreasurer.     Members    of    the 
executive  board  are  chosen  indirectly  by  the  membership. 
The  delegates  to  the  national  convention  are  chosen  and 
instructed  by  the  locals.     The  national  convention  holds  an 
annual  meeting.     This  convention  of  delegates  from  the  locals 
has  power  to  change  the  constitution  or  to  inaugurate  new 
policies.     While  the  convention  is  not  in  session  final  author- 
ity is  practically  centered  in  the  president.     An  amendment^ 
adopted  in  1911  provides  that  strikes  cannot  be  ordered  or 
called  off  by  the  district,  or  international  officers,  without  a   [ 
favorable  referendum  vote  of  miners  concerned.    "The  United    f 
Mine  Workers  of  America  is  one  of  the  most  democratic    \ 
organizations  in  the  world,  but  has  the  possibility  of  becom-     \ 
ing  aTTat  once  the  most  autocratic. "     This  paradoxical  situ-      ) 
ation  grows  out  of  the  necessity  of  preparation  for  strikes.    / 
To  successfully  carry  on  a  war  or  a  strike,  the  executive  must 
be  given  extraordinary  power.     Government  by  discussion  or 
by  referendum  weakens  a  nation  facing  a  military  crisis,  or  a 
labor  union  engaged  in  a  bitter  industrial  conflict.     Like  the 

1  Hollander  and  Barnett,  Studies  in  American  Trade  Unionism.    Chapter  3. 


104    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

British  constitution,  the  constitutional  provisions  governing 
the  Mine  Workers  have  been  developed  step  by  step.  They 
are  adapted  to  the  peculiar  conditions  of  the  mining  industry. 
The  finances  of  the  national  body  are  raised  by  a  per  capita 
tax  upon  the  members  of  the  locals.  Additional  assessments 
may  be  levied  by  the  executive  committee.  In  1902,  the 
year  in  which  the  famous  anthracite  coal  strike  occurred,  the 
total  income  of  the  United  Mine  Workers  was  $3,010,877.32. 
The  annual  joint  conference  between  the  representatives  of 
this  union  and  those  of  the  mine  operators,  for  the  purpose  of 
bargaining  as  to  the  wage  contract  for  the  ensuing  year,  is 
perhaps  the  greatest  labor  market  in  the  world.  "Trade 
unionism  under  the  stimulus  of  the  United  Mine  Workers  of 
America  has  come  to  be  a  business  operation  on  a  large  scale. "  * 
The  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers  is  regarded  as 
one  of  the  most  conservative  of  American  labor  organizations. 
It  is,  of  course,  composed  of  highly  skilled  and  relatively  well 
paid  wage  earners  employed  by  quasi-public  corporations. 
The  safety  of  many  persons  and  of  much  property  depends 
upon  the  skill  and  efficiency  of  the  locomotive  engineer. 
These  conditions  lead  the  engineers,  the  railway  managers, 
and  the  general  public  to  demand  a  long  period  of  apprentice- 
ship. The  locomotive  engineers  do  not  ask  for  closed  shop 
agreements,  and  the  railways  have  adopted  definite  and 
standardized  scales  of  wages.  The  engineers  emphasize  the 
importance  of  collective  bargaining;  and  they  stand  ready  to 
discipline  members  who  violate  the  wage  contract.  Arbitra- 
tion in  case  of  labor  disputes  is  favored.  Mr.  P.  M.  Arthur, 
for  many  years  the  head  of  the  organization,  voicecTfKe  senti- 
ment of  this  body  of  conservative  wage  earners  in  the  follow- 
ing words:  "Argument  .  .  .  rather  than  strikes,  were  at 

1  Warne,  "The  Miners'  Union:  Its  Business  Management,"  Annals  of  the 
American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Science.  Vol.  25.  Reprinted  in 
Commons,  Trade  Unionism  and  Labor  Problems. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  POLICIES  105 

first,  always  have  been,  and  are  now  the  means  on  which  the 
brotherhood  has  relied  to  maintain  the  justice  of  its  requests 
at  the  hands  of  the  railway  company."  The  locomotive 
engineers  engaged  in  an  occupation  in  which  the  use  of  the 
"green  hand"  or  the  unskilled  man  would  lead  to  the  destruc- 
tion of  valuable  property  and  to  great  loss  of  life  and  in  which 
the  cessation  of  operation  is  particularly  disastrous  to  the 
business  interests  and  to  the  general  welfare  of  the  community, 
occupy  a  peculiarly  strategic  position.  They  are  effectively 
shielded  from  many  of  the  economic  dangers  which  confront 
wage  earners  in  other  industries.  For  example,  the  menace 
of  the  unskilled,  of  the  immigrant,  of  child  labor,  or  of  dis- 
placement by  machinery  is  practically  unknown  to  the  loco- 
motive engineer.  The  Brotherhood  has  never  affiliated  with 
the '  American  Federation  of  Labor.  The  railway  brother- 
hoods represent  the  aristocracy  of  the  labor  world,  and  their 
members  are  little  troubled  by  the  trials  and  difficulties  of 
other  classes  of  wage  earners.  Union  trainmen,  for  example, 
do  not  strike  to  aid  striking  machinists  employed  by  the 
railway. 

Professional  men  and  the  general  public  frequently  come 
closely  in  touch  with  the  building  trades.  It  has  been  said 
that  public  opinion  as  to  labor  organizations  is  formed  by 
experience  with  the  building  trades.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
these  trades  constitute  rather  exceptional  forms  of  trade 
unionism.  The  building  trades  are  skilled  trades,  performing 
work  which  must  be  done  in  a  particular  place.  A  building 
cannot  be  built,  —  bricks  laid,  wood  and  iron  strips  placed  in 
position,  plastering  spread,  and  painting  done  —  in  New 
York  for  a  building  to  be  used  in  Chicago.  The  finished 
product  cannot  be  transported  from  one  city  to  another.  This 
fact  localizes,  in  a  large  measure,  the  interests  of  the  members 
of  a  building  trade.  The  trades  keep  their  trade  autonomy, 
but  since  many  trades  are  engaged  upon  one  building,  their 


106    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

interests  are  interrelated.  (The  building  trades  in  a  given 
city  are  affiliated  together  in  a  Building  Trades'  Council. 
This  constitutes  a  sort  of  confederated  system  of  government. 
Their  common  interests  also  find  concrete  expression  in  the 
frequent  resort  to  the  sympathetic  strike.  Trade  agreements 
with  employers  usually  include  a  clause  permitting  the 
sympathetic  strike.  This  insistence  upon  the  sympathetic 
strike  marks  an  approach  toward  the  policies  of  industrial 
unionism.  The  use  of  the  sympathetic  strike  does  not,  how- 
ever, reach  beyond  the  building  trades .) 
\  A  peculiar  feature  of  the  building  trades  is  the  great  amount 
of  authority  which  is  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  business 
agents.  J  They  are  autocrats,  and  have  the  power  to  order  a 
strike  when  they  consider  that  conditions  demand  a  cessation 
of  work.  The  reason  for  this  unique  situation  is  quite  clear. 
A  contract  for  the  erection  of  a  building  is  usually  given  to 
one  contractor  who  sub-lets  to  many  other  contractors.  As 
a  sub-contractor  may  work  upon  a  given  building  for  only  a 
few  days,  prompt  action  is  necessary  in  case  of  a  labor  dis- 
pute. In  order  to  interest  the  general  contractor,  the  resort 
to  the  sympathetic  strike  which  ties  up  the  entire  job  is 
necessary.  "It  is  a  significant  fact  that  the  only  union  of 
the  building  trades  which  does  not  permit  the  sympathetic 
strike  is  that  of  the  bricklayers,  who  are  employed  by  the 
general  contractor,  while  the  unions  employed  by  the  sub- 
contractors hold  that  the  sympathetic  strike  is  necessary."  i 
This  is  a  fine  illustration  of  the  manner  in  which  economic 
conditions  and  selfish  interests  fashion  the  form  of  govern- 
ment and  the  policies  of  trade  unions.  The  building  trades 
insist  upon  rigid  apprenticeship  rules,  the  closed  shop  agree- 
ment, and  upon  the  sympathetic  strike.  Because  the  work 

1  Commons,  Trade  Unionism  and  Labor  Problems,  p.  67.  For  many  of  the 
facts  in  regard  to  the  building  trades,  the  writer  is  indebted  to  Professor 
Commons. 


GOVERNMENT  AND   POLICIES  107 

must  be  done  on  the  spot,  and  because  much  of  it  is  skilled 
work,  the  building  trades  occupy  a  strategic  position  and  have 
been  able  successfully  to  dejnandjbigh_wages  and  a  short 
working  day. 

The  trade  of  a  journeyman  barber  approximates  a  pro- 
fession; and  the  employee  comes  into  close  personal  touch 
with  his  employer.  ThejntejiiationaLIJnion  was  organized 
in  1887.  Employing  barbers  who  work  at  the  trade  are 
excluded  from  membership.  Each  local  determines  its  own 
rules  in  regard  to  wages,  hours,  and  prices.  As  the  journey- 
man usually  receives,  in  addition  to  a  fixed  wage,  a  percentage 
of  the  receipts  from  his  labor,  he  is  interested  in  the  prices 
charged  for  his  services.  The  union  of  employees,  rather 
than  the  employing  barbers,  fixes  prices.  When  wages  are 
increased,  prices  may  be  raised  and  the  increase  passed  on  to 
the  patrons.  In  Toledo,  some  years  ago,  when  wages  and 
prices  were  thus  raised  together,  the  journeymen  refused  to 
allow  any  union  shop  to  charge  less  than  the  regular  scale  of 
prices,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  some  employing  barbers 
were  willing  to  pay  the  union  wage  without  increasing  the 
price  of  a  shave.  Employing  barbers  are  not,  as  a  rule, 
antagonistic  to  the  union.  In  Jackson,  Michigan,  several 
years  ago,  the  local  disbanded.  Not  long  after  this  event, 
the  employing  barbers  urged  its  reorganization,  and  even 
offered  to  pay  a  man  to  act  as  an  organizer.  Union  barbers 
may  work  in  open  shops,  providing  hours,  wages,  and  prices 
are  as  good  or  better  than  in  the  union  shops. 

The  United  Brewery  Workers  are  organized  along  industrial 
rather  than  trade  lines.  Several  bitter  jurisdictional  strug- 
gles have  taken  place  between  the  brewery  workers  and 
various  craft  unions,  such  as  the  teamsters,  coopers,  engineers, 
and  painters.  The  1900  convention  of  the  American  Federa- 
tion finally  declared  that  it  seemed  best  to  allow  the  Brewery 
Workmen  to  have  jurisdiction  over  all  brewery  workers  irre- 


108    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

spective  of  their  particular  trade.  Nevertheless,  difficulties 
continued  to  arise,  and  in  1907  the  charter  of  the  Brewery 
Workers  was  revoked.  A  year  later,  however,  it  was  restored. 
The  brewery  workers  assert  that  the  control  of  all  workers 
employed  by  the  breweries  is  essential  to  the  strength  and 
permanence  of  their  order;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
various  trade  unions  are  anxious  to  increase  their  membership. 
The  difficulties  which  have  arisen  are  due  to  the  essential 
antagonism  between  the  industrial  and  the  trade  form  of 
organization.  The  two  forms  cannot  live  peaceably  side  by 
side,  except  in  the  face  of  a  common  danger. 

Perhaps  the  most  unique  American  labor  organization  is 
the  Western  Federation  of  Miners.  This  organization  is 
composed  chiefly  of  hardy,  reckless,  daring  frontiersmen 
working  in  the  metal  mines  west  of  the  Mississippi  River.  The 
foreigners  in  this  union  constitute  but  a  small  fraction  of  the 
total.  This  organization,  composed  of  men  naturally  of  the 
individualistic  type,  has  developed  class-consciousness  to  a 
degree  rarely  surpassed.  These  reckless  miners  have  been 
confronted  by  a  quickly  developed  and  aggressive  class  of 
wealthy  mine  owners.  Control  of  the  mines  was  suddenly 
centralized;  individual  bargaining  became  futile;  the  separate 
and  disunited  units  of  labor  were  sweated.  The  miners  felt 
themselves  to  be  in  the  grip  of  a  new  and  strong  industrial 
system.  Suddenly  extreme  individualism  was  found  want- 
ing. The  pendulum  suddenly  swung  to  the  other  extreme. 
Under  pressure,  the  miners  knit  together  into  an  industrial 
class-conscious  and  avowedly  socialistic  union;  and,  remem- 
ber, these  miners  were  individualistic  American  frontiersmen. 
(  The  Western  Federation  of  Miners  has  consistently  stood  for 
•<  the  open  shop,  industrial  unionism,  the  method  of  the  general 
/  strike,  and  no  labor  contracts.  Its  constitution  forbids  all 
^•agreements  with  employers  except  in  regard  to  a  scale  of 
wages.  It  has  opposed  the  establishment  of  an  apprentice- 


GOVERNMENT  AND   POLICIES  109 

ship  system,  restriction  of  output,  and  jurisdictional  quar- 
rels. This  union  preaches  the  doctrine  of  a  united  working 
class.  In  spite  of  its  crudeness  and  lawlessness,  it  is  tinctured 
with  a  high  type  of  idealism;  and  one  popular  writer  asserts 
that  it  has  contributed  to  the  history  of  western  mining  "its 
one  flash  of  social  thought,  its  one  deviation  from  a  purely 
materialistic  line  of  progress."1 

The  growing  strength  of  national  and  international  unions, 
requiring  for  successful  guidance  a  high  type  of  expert  leader- 
ship, has  brought  able  men  to  the  front  in  our  important 
labor  organizations.  Greater  permanence  in  office  and  larger 
salaries  have  accompanied  increased  responsibilities.  Samuel 
Gompers  has  been  president  of  the  American  Federation  of 
Labor  since  1884  with  the  exception  of  one  year,  —  1894. 
Adolph  Strasser  was  president  of  the  Cigar  Makers'  Union 
from  1877  to  1891,  at  which  time  he  refused  a  renomination. 
Since  1891,  he  has  been  " financier"  of  the  organization. 
T.  W.  Rowe  has  been  at  the  head  of  the  American  Flint  Glass 
Workers  since  1903.  P.  M.  Arthur  died  in  1903  after  serving 
nearly  thirty  years  as  the  chief  executive  of  the  Brotherhood 
of  Locomotive  Engineers.  It  is  generally  conceded  by  the 
friends  and  foes  of  organized  labor  that  the  officers  of  the 
national  bodies  are,  as  a  rule,  men  of  good  character  and 
unusual  ability.  As  has  been  frequently  noticed  in  the  case 
of  radical  and  ''unsafe"  men  who  have  been  elected  to  posi- 
tions of  great  power  hi  the  political  field,  the  exercise  of 
authority  and  the  weight  of  heavy  responsibilities  seem  to 
bring  conservatism  and  sobriety  of  action.  As  in  the  politi- 
cal arena,  the  greatest  official  inefficiency  is  usually  found  in 
the  local  organizations.  The  "labor  boss"  and  the  "labor 
grafter"  are  not  unknown;  but  wholesale  condemnation  of 

1  Hard,  "The  Western  Federation  of  Miners,"  The  Outlook.  Vol.  83  :  133. 
See  also,  Rastall,  "The  Labor  History  of  the  Cripple  Creek  District."  Bul- 
letin of  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  1908. 


no    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

labor  officials  and  "walking  delegates "  is  not  justified.  When 
the  trade-union  organizations  of  today  with  their  centraliza- 
tion of  authority  and  complexity  of  structure  are  compared 
with  those  of  two  or  three  decades  ago,  it  is  not  difficult  to 
discern  that  the  evolution  of  modern  large-scale  and  inte- 
grated industry  has  been  roughly  paralleled  by  changes  in  the 
Held  of  organized  labor. 

Admission  to  Membership.  As  a  rule  any  competent  per- 
son actually  working  at  his  trade  or  occupation  may  gain 
entrance  to  the  labor  organization  in  his  particular  trade 
or  industry.  The  American  Federation  of  Labor  employs 
about  twenty-five  salaried  organizers,  and  many  volunteer 
organizers  who  receive  a  commission  for  their  work.  The 
United  Mine  Workers'  Union  employs  salaried  organizers. 
The  business  of  the  organizer  is  to  induce  non-union  men  to 
enter  the  organization.  Advertising  methods  are  sometimes 
employed.  The  machinists  in  a  Michigan  city  placed  an 
advertisement  in  their  local  paper,  giving  reasons  why  the 
unorganized  machinists  of  that  city  should  join  the  union; 
and  an  invitation  was  extended  to  all  such  persons  to  attend 
the  next  meeting  of  the  union.  One  of  the  points  emphasized 
was  the  payment  by  the  union  of  strike  and  death  benefits. 
Coercive  measures  —  the  refusal  to  work  with  non-union 
men  or  to  purchase  or  work  upon  goods  produced  by  them  - 
frequently  cause  the  non-unionists  to  apply  for  union  mem- 
bership. A  union  which  aims  to  fix  minimum  wages  and  to 
shorten  the  working  day  uses  similar  tactics  to  those  employed 
by  a  great  capitalistic  trust.  It  tries  to  induce  all  workers  to 
come  into  the  union  fold;  but  failing  in  that  endeavor,  it 
attempts  to  force  the  recalcitrant  ones  out  of  the  trade  or 
occupation.  In  some  unions  an  applicant  is  required  to  have 
worked  at  his  trade  from  one  to  four  years  before  he  is  eligible 
to  membership.  A  few  exclude  women,  negroes,  or  foreign- 
ers. One  provides  that  a  candidate  "must  be  of  good  mora) 


I 


GOVERNMENT  AND   POLICIES  in 

character  and  competent  to  command  standard  wages." 
Several,  among  which  are  the  American  Flint  Glass  Workers, 
charge  a  high  initiation  fee  to  ^lT^rIo~aTem)t  citizens  of 
the  United  States.  Professor  T.  S.  Adams  investigated  94 
national  unions.  He  found  that  20  had  passed  no  provisions 
in  regard  to  entrance_recjuirements ;  38  required  the  candidates 
to  be  competent  workmen;  33  required  a  certain  term  of 
service  in  the  trade;  14  forbade  the  admission  of  employers 
or  foremen;  "about  10  refused  admission  to  workmen  di- 
rectly interested  in  the  liquor  business."1  Occasionally 
unions  composed  of  skilled  men  restrict  the  membership  by 
charging  excessive  initiation  fees.  At  one  time,  the  Mine 
Workers'  Union  charged  an  initiation  fee  of  fifty  dollars.  The 
local  union  may,  as  a  rule,  impose  restrictions  in  addition 
to  those  imposed  by  the  national  body.  Candidates  are 
admitted  to  membership  by  the  votes  of  members  of  a  local.  • 
Disputes  Between  Unions.  Competition  between  rival 
unions  has  long  been  recognized  as  a  serious  menace  to  the 
progress  and  stability  of  organized  labor.  The  recurrence 
of  quarrels  " within  the  family"  has  been  considered  by  labor 
leaders  to  be  "the  one  dark  cloud"  on  the  union  horizon. 
Recently,  however,  the  growing  opposition  from  without  has 
tended  to  push  the  jurisdiction  dispute  into  the  background. 
The  jurisdictional  dispute  in  the  field  of  organized  labor  is  a 
parallel  to  sectional  strife  in  the  American  political  field;  and 
as  internal  disputes  in  the  nation  are  overlooked  when  foreign 
nations  menace,  the  jurisdictional  quarrel  is  forgotten  when 
hostile  employers'  association,  and  giant  corporations  prepare 
to  crush  labor  organizations.  In  the  face  of  opposition 
unions  are  less  likely  to  fritter  away  their  strength  fighting 
each  other.  Jurisdictional  disputes  are  of  two  general  types: 
(i)  Between  trades  over  the  demarcation  of  their  boundaries, 
and  (2)  industrial  versus  trade  organizations.  Demarcation 

1  Adams  and  Sumner,  Labor  Problems,  pp.  248-249. 


112     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

disputes  may  be  subdivided  into  two  classes,  (a)  Two  well- 
established  unions  may  lay  claim  to  certain  forms  of  work 
lying  in  the  borderland  between  the  two  trades.  For  ex- 
ample, should  the  steam-fitter  or  the  carpenters  bore  the 
holes  in  wooden  floors  for  steam  pipes?  Should  boiler  makers 
or  structural  iron  workers  construct  iron  smokestacks?  In 
the  demarcation  disputes  of  this  type,  the  group  selfishness 
of  the  workers  is  in  evidence.  Each  group  or  trade  strives 
to  get  the  greatest  amount  of  work  possible  for  its  trade 
without  much  regard  for  the  rights  of  the  other  groups.  The 
employers  are  often  interested  in  the  dispute  because  they 
are  anxious  to  assign,  wherever  possible,  the  work  over  which 
there  is  a  controversy  to  the  union  receiving  the  lowest  rate 
of  wages,  (b)  ^  specialization  in  industry  developed,  trades 
that  were  formerly  unified  began  to  split  up  into  a  variety 
of  allied  trades.  The  printers'  trade,  once  homogeneous,  has 
been  split  up  into  different  trades.  New  craftsmen  have 
appeared,  such  as  the  pressmen,  electrotypers,  and  linotype 
machine  operators.  Such  new  groups  struggle  for  independ- 
ent recognition,  and  often  new  organizations  are  differentiated 
out  of  the  parent  group.  The  blacksmith  of  a  few  decades 
ago  performed  many  kinds  of  work  now  performed  by  other 
workers.  A  complete  shoe  is  no  longer  made  in  the  modern 
factory  by  any  one  man;  it  is  the  joint  product  of  many 
workers  performing  very  different  kinds  of  service. 

The  jurisdictional  disputes  between  the  trade  and  indus- 
trial unions  are  numerous  and  most  difficult  of  solution.  The 
Brewery  Workers  have  engaged  in  bitter  disputes  with  the 
teamsters,  the  engineers,  the  firemen,  and  the  coopers.  The 
United  Mine  Workers  have  also  had  serious  contentions  with 
various  trade  organizations.  The  conflict  is  almost  inevita- 
ble. The  teamsters,  for  example,  are  anxious  to  make  their 
organization  as  inclusive  and  powerful  as  possible.  They 
wish  to  draw  all  the  teamsters  employed  in  the  brewing  indus- 


GOVERNMENT  AND   POLICIES  113 

try  into  their  organization.  The  Brewery  Workers  feel  that 
the  loss  of  the  teamsters  would  seriously  weaken  their  organiza- 
tion. They  wish  to  be  able  to  control  all  the  employees  of 
the  brewing  companies.  The  separate  organization  of  the 
various  trades  involved  in  the  brewing  business  would  leave 
the  workers  who  are  technically  brewery  workers  in  a  position 
in  which  they  could  accomplish  little. 

The  dangers  connected  with  jurisdictional  disputes  are 
obvious;  but  the  remedy  is  not  so  apparent.  Mr.  Mitchell 
believes  that  some  form  of  federation  is  the  remedy.  But 
there  are  certain  obstacles  to  be  removed.  The  unions 
having  a  large  membership  desire  representation  according  to 
members;  the  small  unions  knowing  that  they  will  be  out- 
voted, on  that  basis  naturally  would  demand  representation 
by  organization.  The  situation  is  similar  to  that  which  con- 
fronted the  constitutional  convention  of  1787.  The  large 
states,  such  as  Massachusetts  and  Virginia,  wanted  repre- 
sentation in  Congress  according  to  population.  Connecticut 
and  Delaware,  of  course,  did  not  look  with  favor  upon  this 
proposition.  The  policy  of  the  American  Federation  of 
Labor  has  been  to  refuse  to  assume  the  authority  to  settle 
jurisdictional  disputes  between  affiliated  unions.  A  spokes- 
man for  the  industrial  union  declares  that  "the  only  radical 
solution  might  be  found  in  the  idea  of  a^eaortri  labor  union, 
which,  however,  would  have  to  possess  a  much  closer  unity 
and  exercise  a  much  more  far-reaching  influence  upon  its 
members  than  does,  for  instance,  the  American  Federation  of 
Labor."1  The  disappearance  of  jurisdictional  disputes  can 
come  only  with  the  strengthening  of  the  power  of  a  national 
body  controlling  all  organizations  and  with  the  development 
of  a  feeling  of  solidarity  among  the  mass  of  wage  earners. 

The  Introduction  of  Machinery.    The  traditional  attitude  of 

1  Schliiter,  The  Brewing  Industry  and  the  Brewery  Workers1  Movement  in 
America,  p.  232. 


H4    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

the  organized  and  unorganized  wage  earners  toward  the  intro- 
duction of  machinery  into  his  trade  or  occupation  has  been 
one  of  hostility.  History  records  many  instances  of  the  de- 
struction of  new  machines  by  mobs  of  enraged  workmen  fear- 
ful of  displacement  by  the  machine.  The  wage  earners  have 
often  faced  the  destruction  of  a  skilled  trade  and  the  reduc- 
tion of  wages;  and  they  have  felt  that  invariably  the  benefits 
of  improved  machinery  accrue  to  the  employer  and  to  the 
consumer.  Various  unions  have  bitterly  opposed  the  intro- 
duction of  machinery;  and  have  refused  to  allow  union  men 
to  operate  machines.  The  plumbers,  the  cigar  makers,  and 
the  stone  cutters  adopted  that  policy.  In  recent  years,  organ- 
ized labor  is  gradually  being  forced  to  accept  the  view  that 
opposition  to  the  introduction  of  machinery  is  in  the  long  run 
futile.  A  new  attitude  toward  improved  machinery  is  being 
assumed.  The  unions  are  demanding  that  only  union  men 
operate  machines  and  that  wages  shall  not  be  reduced  or  that 
wages  shall  be  increased.  In  this  manner,  organized  labor 
aims  to  prevent  the  displacement  of  union  men,  and  to  gain 
a  share  of  the  benefits  derived  from  the  use  of  improved 
methods.  The  best  example  of  this  policy  is  found  in  the 
printing  trade.  The  national  unions  in  the  glass  industry 
and  in  the  iron  molding  trade  have  attempted  to  follow  the 
example  of  the  printers,  but  their  success  has  been  less 
marked. 

"Rp.fore  i Sop  typesetting  was  a  handicraft  art  which  had 
undergone  few  changes  since  the  introduction  of  printing. 
During  the  decade  of  the  nineties,  machine  composition  rap- 
idly displaced  hand  typesetting.  The  invention  of  the  Hno- 
typ£  machine  revolutionized  the  typesetting  branch  of  the 
printing  industry.  The  International  Typographical  Union 
did  not  oppose  the  introduction  of  the  linotype,  but  demanded 
jurisdiction  over  it.  At  the  annual  meeting  held  in  1888, 
when  only  about  one  hundred  linotype  machines  were  in 


GOVERNMENT  AND  POLICIES  115 

operation  in  the  United  States  and  Canada,  resolutions  were 
adopted  recommending  "that  subordinate  unions  .  .  .  take 
speedy  action  looking  to  their  recognition  and  regulation, 
endeavoring  everywhere  to  secure  their  operation  by  union 
men  upon  a  scale  of  wages  which  shall  secure  compensation 
equal  to  that  paid  hand  compositors."1  The  printer  has 
been  pictured  as  looking  at  the  linotype  and  soliloquizing 
after  this  fashion:  "Here  is  something  which  will  take  my 
bread  and  butter  away  from  me  and  I  must  try  to  become 
its  master. "  Although  the  members  of  some  locals  have  been 
reluctant  to  learn  to  operate  the  machines,  the  national  union 
has  steadfastly  adhered  to  the  policy  outlined  when  the  lino- 
type first  appeared. 

The  success  of  this  policy  has  been  very  pronounced.  In 
1904,  94^  per  cent,  of  the  male  linotype  operators  were  mem- 
bers bl  the  union.  Wages  have  been  maintained  and  raised 
in  spite  of  the  introduction  of  the  typesetting  machine;  the 
length  of  the  working  day  has  been  reduced,  and  the  amount 
of  unemployment  because  of  the  change  in  methods  was  di- 
minished. The  most  notable  gain  has  been  in  shortening  the 
length  of  the  working  day,  since  the  strain  upon  the  operator 
of  a  linotype  is  greater  than  upon  the  hand  compositor.  The 
union  has  shared  with  the  employers  and  general  public  in 
the  benefits  of  unproved  methods.  If  organized  labor  in  other 
industries  can  as  successfully  carry  out  a  similar  policy  in 
regard  to  the  introduction  of  new  machines  and  methods,  the 
vexed  problems  centering  around  the  introduction  of  machin- 
ery and  the  displacement  of  skilled  workers  would  seem  to  be 
approaching  solution. 

What  are  the  forces  which  enabled  the  typographical  union 
to  maintain  firm  control  over  the  trade  in  the  face  of  the 
rapid  introduction  of  the  linotype?  Certain  labor  leaders  in 
their  testimony  before  the  Industrial  Commission  attributed 

1  Barnett,  "The  Introduction  of  the  Linotype,"  Yale  Review.  Vol.  13  :  268. 


Ii6    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

the  success  of  this  policy  solely  to  the  strength  of  the  Typo* 
graphical  Union.  If  these  opinions  are  well  founded,  the  cigar 
makers,  the  glass  workers,  or  the  iron  molders  can  success- 
fully face  the  introduction  of  machines  into  their  industry  by 
strengthening  their  organizations  and  by  following  the  course 
of  action  pursued  by  the  printers.  The  latter,  however,  had 
certain  strategic  advantages  when  they  confronted  the  intro- 
duction of  the  typesetting  machine.  l  ^a^J^ie  greatest 
strength  of  the  union  came  from  the  control  of  the  large  news- 
paper offices.  The  boycott  would  be  a  particularly  effective 
weapon  against  a  newspaper  in  case  of  a  serious  labor  dispute. 
(b)  The  linotype  was  first  introduced  into  the  large  news- 
^pSper  offices.  As  its  use  spread  to  the  smaller  offices  and  job 
printing  establishments,  the  latter  were  enabled  to  get  a 
supply  of  skilled  operators  from  the  large  offices,  (c)  Un- 
skilled operators  have  not  proven  successful  in  operating  the 
linotype.  The  hand  compositor's  knowledge  is  very  useful 
to  the  machine  operator.  The  third  consideration  is  of  great 
importance  because  in  the  majority  of  cases  the  introduction 
of  machinery  reduces  the  quality  of  workmanship  required 
in  the  manufacture  of  the  product.  The  linotype  operator, 
on  the  contrary,  "must  know  the  same  things"  as  the  hand 
compositor,  and  he  "must  think  far  more  rapidly."  These 
considerations  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  labor  organizations 
in  the  other  trades,  although  using  the  same  tactics,  may  not 
be  able  to  cope  with  the  introduction  of  machinery  as  suc- 
cessfully as  have  the  printers. 

Collective  Bargaining.  Labor  is  organized  primarily  be- 
cause it  is  vitally  interested  in  the  amount,  method,  and 
time  of  remuneration  for  the  labor  of  wage  earners.  Under 
normal  conditions  and  in  small-scale  industry  wages  are  di- 
rectly determined  as  the  result  of  a  bargain  between  the  indi- 

1  Harriett,  Yale  Review.  Vol.  13.  Reprinted  in  Commons,  Trade  Unionism 
and  Labor  Problems. 


GOVERNMENT  AND   POLICIES  117 

viduals  furnishing  the  labor  power  and  those  furnishing  the 
capital.  There  are  two  forms  of  wage  bargaining,  -^-  indi- 
vidual and  collective  bargaining.}  If  each  individual  member 
of  a  group  of  employees  makes  a  separate  and  independent 
bargain  with  his  employer,  the  method  of  individual  bargain- 
ing is  employed.  If  the  employees  or  a  group  of  employees 
send  representatives  to  bargain  with  the  employer,  and  an 
agreement  is  reached  which  fixes  a  standard  wage  for  each 
group  or  for  each  class  of  work,  the  method  of  collective  bar- 
gaining is  used.  The  ability  to  require  the  collective  bargain 
is  the  crucial  test  of  unionism.  Labor  disputes  in  an  industry 
in  which  collective  bargaining  prevails  are  large-scale;  single 
workmen  cannot  be  dismissed  and  replaced  because  of  con- 
troversies over  the  wage  bargain.  The  employer  faces  the 
loss  of  all  or  a  considerable  fraction  of  his  employees  in  case  of 
a  dispute  in  regard  to  wages. 

Individual  capitalists  have  found  cooperation  with  each 
other  advantageous.  As  a  result,  great  corporations  have 
come  into  being.  The  individual  unit  is  merged  into  the 
more  complex  legal  unit.  The  individual  investor  now  dele- 
gates his  rights  and  powers  in  regard  to  the  control  and 
management  of  the  business  into  the  hands  of  representatives, 
—  directors,  managers,  and  foremen.  The  members  of 
labor  organizations  maintain  thaT^Tbafgain  between  individ- 
ual workmen  and  the  representatives  of  consolidated  capital 
is  of  necessity  unfair.  The  trade  union  is  a  combination 
among  wage  earners  which  corresponds  to  the  corporation  in 
the  case  of  units  of  capital.  The  wage  bargain  can  only  be 
equitable  when  representatives  of  the  wage  earners  face 
representatives  of  consolidated  capital.  Accordingly,  it  is 
maintained  that  the  system  of  collective  bargaining  is  simply 
an  outgrowth  of  business  consolidation.  The  workers  are 
forced  to  unite  and  to  bargain  unitedly,  or  to  face  dangerous 
competition  among  themselves  and  to  suffer  reduction  of 


Ii8    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

wages.  The  refusal  on  the  part  of  the  superintendent  of  a 
large  factory  to  bargain  with  representatives  of  his  employees 
is  as  absurd  and  unreasonable  as  would  be  the  demand  on  the 
part  of  the  employees  for  direct  negotiations  with  the  stock- 
holders of  the  company  represented  by  the  superintendent. 

The  chief  effects  of  the  system  of  collective  bargaining  are: 
(i)  It  tends  to  level  time  wages;  (2)  to  increase  the  average 
wage;  (3)  to  establish  a  minimum  wage;  and  (4)  to  transfer 
competitive  pressure  among  workers  from  wages  to  efficiency 
and  skill.  "The  standard  rate"  fixed  by  the  unions  through 
the  use  of  collective  bargaining  is  a  minimum  rate  or  a  "living 
wage."  A  minimum  wage  may  also  be  established  by  legis- 
lative action.  In  actual  practice  the  standard  rate  does  tend 
toward  a  uniform  wage  where  the  time  wage  system  is  used. 
This  uniformity  in  the  rate  of  wages  is  found  within  a  given 
shop  or  in  a  given  locality;  the  collective  bargain  only  tends 
in  a  small  degree  to  reduce  the  wages  paid  in  different  local- 
ities to  a'  common  level.  Collective  bargaining  between 
railway  companies  and  their  employees  presents  some  ex- 
ceptions to  this  general  statement.  Recent  increases  in  the 
wages  paid  railway  trainmen  were  first  granted  upon  one 
railway;  then  the  men  in  the  employ  of  other  roads  demanded 
that  the  same  scale  be  adopted  by  the  latter.  Collective 
bargaining  in  the  railway  world  is  leading  toward  standardizing 
the  wages  paid  by  different  railway  systems.  A  non-union 
shop  in  which  wages  are  fixed  by  individual  bargaining  will, 
however,  present  greater  variations  in  wages  than  a  union 
shop  using  the  system  of  collective  bargaining.  Unionists 
are  prone  to  object  to  grading  or  classifying  their  workers  in 
a  particular  trade.  The  members  of  labor  organizations  insist 
that  such  a  practice  is  demoralizing  and  "tends  to  destroy 
that  friendship  which  is  essential  to  trade  unionism."  The 
unionists  also  fear  that  the  man  who  receives  higher  wages 
than  the  standard  wage  is  employed  to  act  as  a  "rusher" 


GOVERNMENT  AND   POLICIES  119 

or  pacemaker.  He  is  hated  as  one  who  is  taking  "blood 
money." 

The  minimum  wage  is  by  no  means  entirely  inimical  to  the 
skilled  and  efficient  worker  because  he  is  protected  by  it  in 
several  ways,  (i)  "The  union  rate  is  usually  higher  than  the 
competitive  rate  (established  by  individual  bargaining)  would 
be.  Consequently,  if  wages  are  leveled,  they  are  leveled  up, 
not  down,  so  that  the  earnings  of  the  superior  workmen  are 
not  reduced,  even  though  the  earnings  of  the  inferior  workmen 
are  increased. " x  If  the  minimum  wage  were  not  leveled  up 
above  the  market  rate,  some  trouble  might  be  anticipated  in 
the  collection  of  union  dues.  (2)  The  better  workmen  are 
likely  to  be  assigned  to  the  more  delicate,  varied,  and  interest- 
ing tasks.  (3)  The  minimum  wage  prevents  an  encroachment 
upon  the  work  of  the  skilled.  Minute  subdivision  of  labor  is 
prevented  by  the  establishment  of  the  minimum  wage.  The 
employer  does  not  find  it  profitable  to  take  away  portions  of 
a  skilled  trade  and  give  them  to  an  unskilled  man  if  the  latter 
is  paid  the  standard  wage.  The  temptation  to  introduce 
young  boys  into  the  industry  is  reduced  by  the  enforcement 
of  a  high  minimum  wage  scale.  (4)  In  the  event  of  a  business 
depression  the  poor  rather  than  the  efficient  worker  is  first 
thrown  out  of  a  job.  Under  normal  conditions,  if  some  worker 
must  be  temporarily  "laid  off,"  it  will  be  the  unskilful  ones 
rather  than  the  efficient  who  will  be  chosen. 

The  standard  or  minimum  wage  fixes  certain  bounds  within 
which  competition  acts.  The  employer  is  restrained  from 
forcing  the  level  of  wages  below  that  which  is  necessary  for 
decent  living.  "If  the  conditions  of  employment  are  un- 
regulated, it  will  frequently  pay  an  employer  not  to  select  the 
best  workmen,  but  to  give  the  preference  to  an  incompetent 
or  inferior  man,  a  'boozer'  or  a  person  of  bad  character, 
provided  that  he  can  hire  him  at  a  sufficiently  low  wage, 
1  Adams  and  Sumner,  Labor  Problems,  p.  257. 


120    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

make  him  work  excessive  and  irregular  hours,  or  subject  him 
to  insanitary  conditions."1  The  individual  and  the  un- 
regulated wage  bargain  makes  possible  the  sweating  system. 
The  introduction  of  the  standard  wage  makes  for  the  survival 
of  the  fittest.  Competition  in  regard  to  wages  is  limited,  and 
the  stress  is  now  laid  upon  efficiency  and  quality  of  product. 
Unionism  at  its  best,  as  in  the  case  of  the  stove  molders,2  has 
in  a  large  measure  actually  transferred  competition  from  price- 
slashing  and  wage-cutting  to  a  struggle  for  better  quality  of 
product.  The  true  competitive  ideal  is  not  absolutely  un- 
regulated "jungle"  competition,  but  competition  according 
to  certain  rules  of  the  game  which  tend  to  prevent  the  degra- 
dation of  the  worker  and  the  deterioration  of  the  product. 

The  establishment  of  a  minimum  wage  does  not  necessarily 
mean  good  wages  for  the  incompetent  workman;  but  it  does 
mean  that  the  employable  worker  be  given  sufficient  to  keep 
him  and  his  family  in  health  and  efficiency.  The  incompetent 
will  be  thrown  out  of  employment,  and  must  be  provided  for 
in  some  other  manner;  or  they  will  be  obliged  to  enter  an 
inferior  wage  group.  The  inefficient  employer  will  also  be 
forced  to  the  wall;  and  the  sweater  will  lose  his  occupation. 
The  establishment  of  a  minimum  or  a  living  wage  is  a  partial 
recognition  of  a  system  of  distribution  according  to  needs. 
Needs  are  frequently  accepted  as  a  determining  factor  in  the 
case  of  professional  salaries,  as,  for  example,  of  school  teachers. 
Teachers  have  certain  necessary  requirements  and  sundry 
more  or  less  conventional  needs;  the  latter  are  potent  factors 
in  determining  the  salary  of  teachers  as  a  class. 

The  chief  objections  to  the  minimum  wage  system  are 
three  in  number.  (  (i)  It  increases  the  amount  of  inefficient 
work.  I  This  directly  controverts  one  argument  favorable  to 
the  system.  An  extract  from  a  speech  made  by  the  presi- 

1  Webb,  Industrial  Democracy,  p.  716. 

2  See  the  section  on  collective  bargaining  in  the  stove  industry. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  POLICIES  121 

dent  of  an  employers'  association  in  New  Zealand  is  typical 
of  the  attitude  of  certain  employers.  "One  of  the  most 
serious  charges  that  can  be  laid  against  unionism  is  that  it 
reduces  the  efficiency  of  labor.  This  is  the  direct  and  inev- 
itable outcome  of  the  minimum  wage,  which  means  scaling 
efficiency  down  to  the  level  of  the  least  competent  workman. 
This  is  perfectly  manifested  in  theory,  and  practical  evidence 
has  been  adduced  in  connection  with  more  than  one  trade  now 
working  under  awards  of  the  court.  The  direct  effect  upon 
industry  cannot  fail  to  be  felt  sooner  or  later,  revealing  itself 
in  increased  cost  and  inferior  workmanship.  And  this  effect 

will  become  more  marked  as  the  area  of  deterioration  ex- 

i 

tends. " l  This  tendency  will  be  more  apparent  in  eras  of 
''good  times"  than  in  periods  of  trade  depression.  When 
there  is  considerable  demand  for  labor,  poorer  workers  will  be 
employed  than  when  the  demand  is  slack.  As  a  consequence 
not  only  will  the  average  efficiency  in  the  trade  be  lowered, 
but  the  efficiency  of  each  individual  among  the  better  workers 
is  in  danger  of  appreciable  deterioration.  The  presence  of 
less  efficient,  but  equally  paid,  workers  and  the  remoteness  of 
the  danger  of  unemployment  produce  this  regrettable  effect 
upon  the  worker. 

(2)  By  causing  the  early  displacement  of  workers  who  are 
past  their  jmme^  the  minimum  wage  system  increases  unem- 
ployment. I  The  stress  and  strain  of  industry  are  such  that 
the  older  workers  cannot  work  side  by  side  with  the  younger 
and  more  vigorous.     Where  no  minimum  is  established  the 
older  workers  are  driven  to  accept  very  low  wages  or  be  dis- 
charged ;  in  case  a  minimum  is  established  the  first  alternative 
is  lacking.     A  system   of  old   age  pensions   is  one  way  of 
caring  for  the  old  and  enfeebled  workers.      A  gradation  of 
labor  within  a  trade  may  obviate  some  of  the  difficulties. 

(3)  The  minimum  wage  system(does  not  adequately  recog- 

1  Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor.    No.  49,  p.  1222. 


122    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

nize  inequalities  in  the  ability  and  the  efficiency  of  different 
workmen  within  a  given  trade  group. )  Employers  vehemently 
assert  that  the  tendency  is  to  reduce  all  to  a  dead  level  of 
mediocrity,  that  the  effect  is  vicious,  and  that  progress  is 
retarded.  As  has  been  pointed  out,  the  attempt  at  gradation 
is  looked  upon  by  members  of  the  union  as  endangering  the 
solidarity  of  the  organization.  Employers  antagonistic  to 
labor  organizations  could  use  classification  and  gradation  as 
a  powerful  weapon  against  nearly  all  unions  except  those 
composed  of  highly  skilled  workers.  Gradation  of  workers 
might  also  be  used  as  a  cloak  to  cover  stealthy  reductions  in 
the  average  rate  of  wages. 

The  Closed  Shop  Policy.  An  open  shop  is  one  in  which 
union  and  non-union  men  work,  or  may  work,  side  by  side. 
No  discrimination  is  practised  against  union  or  non-union 
men.  In  some  cases,  this  arrangement  is  purely  informal, 
and  collective  bargaining  is  not  utilized.  In  other  cases  a 
more  or  less  definite  agreement  may  be  entered  into  between 
the  employer  and  his  organized  employees. 

At  least  three  distinct  types  of  the  closed  shop  may  be 
found:  (a)  T^he_anti-union  shop.  The  anti-union  shop  is  closed 
to  the  union  man.  The  employer  in  sucri  a  shop  closes  the 
door  upon  the  union  man.  He  will  not  knowingly  hire  a 
union  man,  and  he  will  discharge  any  employee  who  openly 
joins  a  union.  Frequently,  the  applicant  for  a  job  in  an  anti- 
union  shop  is  required  to  sign  a  card  stating,  among  other 
things,  that  he  is  or  is  not  affiliated  with  a  labor  organization. 
The  union  man  is  never  hired.  In  some  cases,  the  job  seeker 
is  asked  to  sign  a  statement  to  the  effect  that  he  will  not 
join  a  labor  union  while  in  the  employ  of  the  company.  Un- 
der an  Oklahoma  statute,  such  action  on  the  part  of  a  person 
or  corporation  constitutes  a  misdemeanor.  The  federal 
statute  restraining  railway  companies  engaged  in  interstate 
commerce  from  discharging  an  employee  because  of  member- 


GOVERNMENT  AND   POLICIES  123 

ship  in  a  union  was  declared  unconstitutional.  Many  bitter 
opponents  of  the  other  forms  of  the  closed  shop  are  ardent 
advocates  of  the  anti-union  form  of  the  closed  shop.  They 
call  their  factory  an  open  or  a  non-union,  not  a  closed,  shop; 
and  they  have  much  to  say  about  the  tyranny  of  the  closed 
shop  when  closed  by  the  union. 

(b)  The  Closed  Shop  with  the  Open  Union.  The  employer 
is  allowed  to  hire  whomsoever  he  desires  to  employ;  but  the 
new  employee,  if  not  a  member  of  the  union,  must  become 
affiliated  with  it.  (c)  The  Closed  Shop  with  the  Closed  Union. 
The  employer  is  restricted  to  the  membership  of  the  UfflOii 
for  new  employees.  This  is  the  highest  form  of  "unioniza- 
tion" of  an  establishment.  Men  who  lose  their  good  stand- 
ing in  the  union  must  be  discharged.  If  the  union  requires 
a  large  initiation  fee  or  insists  upon  rigid  apprenticeship  rules, 
this  form  of  the  closed  shop  is  highly  monopolistic  in  charac- 
ter. Hereafter,  the  first  form  will  be  called  the  anti-union 
shop,  and  the  second  and  third  will  be  termed  the  closed  shop. 

The  rules  governing  the  closed  shop  are  enforced  by  means 
of  one  of  two  methods,  — (the  card  system  or  the  check-off 
system.1/  The  card  system  is  used  most  widely,  and  is  the 
more  difficult  system  to  carry  out  effectively.  Union  officials 
must  inspect  the  shop  from  time  to  time,  and  appeal  to  the 
foreman  or  superintendent  to  discharge  all  employees  who 
have  not  paid  their  union  dues  or  who  for  any  other  reason 
are  no  longer  in  good  standing  in  the  union.  Under  this 
system,  the  union  officials  must  frequently  exert  pressure  in 
order  to  compel  individual  members  to  pay  their  union  dues. 

The  check-off  system  has  only  a  restricted  application.  It 
is  used  in  the  bituminous  coal  mines  and  in  the  window  glass 
manufactories.  The  supervision  required  "by  union  officials 
is  very  slight.  The  company  agrees  to  deduct  from  the  pay 
of  its  employees,  the  fees,  fines,  and  irregular  assessments 

1  Stockton,  Johns  Hopkins  University  Circular.  '  No.  224. 


124    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

levied  by  the  union.  These  sums  are  turned  over  to  the 
treasurer  of  the  union.  Under  this  system  the  employee 
always  remains  a  paid-up  member  of  the  union,  because  the 
employer  has  a  standing  order  to  deduct  the  union's  fines  and 
dues  from  the  wages  of  the  employee.  From  the  standpoint 
of  the  union,  the  check-off  system  is  a  very  efficient  method 
of  holding  its  members  and  of  collecting  the  dues  and  fines. 
Mr.  Stockton  presents  two  reasons  for  the  restricted  applica- 
tion of  the  check-off  system,  (i)  The  union  desires  to  be  less 
dependent  upon  the  employers  of  its  members.  (2)  Many 
employers  are  not  anxious  to  assist  in  unionizing  their  estab- 
lishments. However,  very  little  friction  seems  to  have  arisen 
in  the  limited  number  of  establishments  in  which  it  has  been 
tried. 

The  closed  shop  is  a  product  of  mutual  distrust  and  antag- 
onism between  employers  and  employees.  Organized  labor 
has  little  confidence  in  the  employer  who  demands  an  open 
shop  in  the  name  of  liberty  and  freedom  of  contract.  The 
union  man  believes,  and  not  without  reason,  that  this  oft- 
repeated  appeal  to  the  traditional  rights  of  the  individual 
conceals  the  sinister  motive  of  keeping  down  the  wage  level 
and  defeating  the  aims  of  organized  labor  for  the  betterment 
of  the  wage  earners.  The  employers  distrust  their  employees 
who  demand  a  closed  shop.  They  urge  that  the  union  wishes 
to  control  the  labor  supply  and  to  dictate  the  conditions 
governing  the  operation  of  the  plant.  The  opponents  of  the 
closed  shop  also  proclaim  it  to  be  un-American,  monopolistic, 
and  unfair  to  the  unorganized  workers.  The  following  quo- 
tation from  a  trade  journal  is  a  fair  sample  of  the  sentimental 
appeal  made  in  favor  of  the  open  shop.  "  The  open  shop  is  a 
concrete  example  of  the  spirit  of  American  institutions  and 
represents  that  liberty  which,  on  a  larger  scale,  our  fathers 
fought  for.  .  .  .  The  open  shop  allows  a  mechanic  to  take 
personal  pride  in  his  work  and  makes  the  amount  of  his  earn- 


GOVERNMENT  AND   POLICIES  125 

ings  dependent  solely  on  his  skill  and  industry.  .  .  .  The 
open  shop  stands  for  American  manhood."  The  advocates 
of  the  closed  shop  declare  that  the  open  shop  in  many 
industries  means  low  wages,  the  long  working  day,  over- 
driving, and  unsanitary  working  conditions. 

In  the  industries  where  open  shop  agreements  are  contin- 
ued year  after  year,  three  conditions  appear  to  be  essential:1 
(a)  Strong  and  well-disposed  organizations  must  exist  among 
both  employers  and  employees,  (b)  The  employer  must  pay 
the  same  scale  of  wages  to  both  union  and  non-union  men. 
A  definite  rate  must  be  agreed  upon  and  no  attempt  be 
made  to  cut  the  rate.  The  railways  have  almost  universally 
adopted  this  practice,  (c)  All  unsettled  complaints  must 
be  referred  for  settlement  to  a  joint  conference  composed  of 
representatives  of  the  union  and  of  the  employers.  Unions 
having  full  treasuries  and  emphasizing  insurance  features  do 
not,  as  a  rule,  place  as  much  dependence  upon  the  closed  shop 
as  do  those  which  are  financially  weaker  and  which  do  not 
pay  benefits.  In  trades  in  which  a  long  term  of  apprentice- 
ship is  necessary  or  required,  the  demand  for  the  closed  shop 
is  not  notably  insistent.  On  the  contrary,  the  constant 
influx  of  immigrants  is  a  factor  in  producing  the  demand  for 
a  closed  shop.  A  variety  of  circumstances  determine  whether 
a  union  will  or  will  not  demand  the  closed  shop.  The  same 
labor  organization  may  demand  the  closed  shop  in  one  shop 
or  locality,  and  gracefully  acquiesce  in  an  open  shop  policy 
elsewhere.  In  England  the  closed  shop  controversy  is  of 
little  consequence.  The  British  unionists  are  chiefly  skilled 
men,  apprenticeship  rules  are  more  rigidly  enforced  than  on 
this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  the  amount  of  immigration  is  small, 
the  non-unionist  is  an  Englishman  accustomed  to  a  standard 
of  living  similar  to  that  of  the  union  man,  and  the  subdivision 

1  Commons,  "  Causes  of  Union-Shop  Policy,"  Publications  of  the  American 
Economic  Association,  1905.  The  student  should  read  this  article. 


126    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

of  labor  is  not  so  minute  as  in  this  country;  and,  consequently, 
the  skilled  English  worker  is  not  so  directly  and  dangerously 
menaced  by  the  unskilled  as  is  his  American  brother. 

Although  the  demand  for  a  closed  shop  grows  out  of  the 
mutual  antagonism  between  employers'  associations  and 
labor  organizations,  and  disappears  almost  entirely  when  an 
agreement  system  and  a  uniform  scale  of  wages  are  adopted, 
it  will  probably  also  recede  into  the  background  if  (a)  the 
struggle  between  labor  and  capital  becomes  acute,  (b)  the 
unions  grow  in  strength  and  membership,  and  (c)  the  skilled 
and  unskilled  are  knit  together  into  compact  industrial  unions. 
The  closed  shop  is  essentially  a  policy  adapted  to  an  era  of 
small-scale  industrial  organizations;  it  is  primarily  a  trade- 
union  policy. 

When  a  strong  employers'  association,  controlling  large  por- 
tions of  the  industrial  field,  faces  a  powerful,  well-disciplined 
and  centrally  controlled  labor  organization,  the  question  of 
the  closed  versus  the  open  shop  will  not  long  continue  to  be  the 
important  point  at  issue.  The  unionized  shop  may  then  be 
accepted  as  a  matter  of  course  just  as  are  the  joint-stock  com- 
pany and  the  corporation.  The  American  people  have  ever 
been  jealous  of  encroachments  upon  individual  rights  and  priv- 
ileges; and  the  evolution  of  great  and  well-organized  indus- 
trial systems  involving  the  organization  of  both  labor  and 
capital  cannot  be  accomplished  without  much  social  and 
industrial  friction.  Opposition  and  coercion  perhaps  mark 
a  phase  in  the  change  from  unrestrained  competition  and 
small  business  units  to  a  condition  of  greater  unification  and 
cooperation ;  they  are  the  growing  pains  of  industrial  society. 

The  two  arguments  in  favor  of  the  closed  shop  are,v  senti* 
mental"  and  economic. \  According  to  the  first  method  of 
justifying  the  closed  shop,  wages  have  been  raised  and  condi- 
tions of  labor  within  a  given  trade  improved  as  the  result  of 
the  efforts  and  the  sacrifices  of  the  members  of  labor  organiza- 


GOVERNMENT  AND  POLICIES  127 

tions.  4P  workers  in  a  trade  are  benefited;  and  "he  who  is 
benefited  should  bear  his  share  of  the  expenses  of  the  bene- 
factor."  The  man  who  refuses  to  join  the  union  and  bear 
his  share  of  the  expenses  necessary  to  the  success  of  the 
union's  policies  is  a  parasite  and  deserves  to  be  excluded  from 
employment.  Through  the  efforts  of  labor  organizations, 
unionists  expect  not  only  to  help  themselves,  but  indirectly 
to  aid  all  wage  earners.  Viewed  through  these  spectacles, 
the  non-unionist  or  "scab"  strikes  a  blow  at  the  hearthstone 
of  every  worker  in  the  land  when  he  refuses  to  conform  to  the 
program  of  the  union.  At  best,  the  "scab"  is  an  extremely 
short-sighted  man,  and  one  who  must  not  be  allowed  to 
ruthlessly  take  away  such  advantages  as  have  been  gained 
by  labor  organizations.  The  following  quotation  well  illus- 
trates the  union  point  of  view.  "To  the  non-unionist,  despite 
that  which  his  advocates  say  for  him,  cannot  be  attributed 
the  virtue  of  helping  his  fellow  workmen  or  contributing 
toward  the  establishment  of  more  rightful  relations  between 
workingmen  and  their  employers.  No  force  but  that  of 
persuasion  and  moral  and  intelligent  influences  should  be 
exercised  to  convert  the  non-unionist  to  membership  in  our 
organization,  but  it  is  hurtful  from  every  viewpoint,  and  to 
every  enlightened  interest,  to  advocate  the  'open  shop'"1 

The  economic  necessity  for  the  closed  shop  depends  in  a 
large  measure  upon  the  attitude  of  the  employer.  If  the 
employer  insists  upon  his  right  to  make  individual  bargains 
with  non-union  employees,  and  discriminates  against  union 
men,  or  hires  non-union  men  at  a  lower  wage  than  that  paid 
union  men,  the  union  will  sooner  or  later  be  obliged  to  fight 
or  be  disintegrated.  The  hostile  employer,  unless  restrained 
by  the  closed  shop  or  by  a  uniform  system  of  wage  payment 
for  all  workers  coupled  with  a  system  of  apprenticeship  and 
of  promotion,  can  deunionize  his  shop  unless  the  union 

1  American  Federationist,  November,  1903,  p.  1196. 


128    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

includes  practically  all  the  \vorkers  available  in  that  trade  or 
industry.  The  union  facing  a  hostile  employer  anxious  to 
reduce  wages  and  to  lengthen  the  working  day,  and  in  touch 
with  a  supply  of  non-union  workers,  is  forced,  unless  it  gives 
up  all  hope  of  efficient  trade-union  action,  to  adopt  the  closed 
shop  policy.  Under  such  conditions  the  closed  shop  means 
more  bread  and  butter,  more  leisure,  and  better  treatment 
for  the  wage  earner. 

Restriction  of  Output,  (a)  By  employers.  Restriction  of 
output  is  practiced  by  both  employers  and  employees.  Em- 
ployers' associations  aim  to  limit  the  total  amount  of  output 
produced  during  a  given  period.  One  purpose  underlying 
the  formation  of  large  industrial  combinations  is  that  of  con- 
trolling the  output  in  order  that  prices  may  be  raised  and  net 
profits  increased.  The  withdrawal  of  natural  resources  from 
use,  whether  justifiable  or  not,  is  a  form  of  limitation  of  out- 
put. The  real  essence  of  monopoly  is  found  in  the  power  to 
restrict  output.  The  advantage  of  a  patent,  copyright,  or 
trade-mark  is  derived  from  the  legal  right  to  control  the 
entire  output  of  the  particular  article.  The  earlier  form  of 
association  or  pool,  such  as  those  in  the  iron  industry  or  in  the 
window-glass  business,  was  also  directly  concerned  with  the 
limitation  of  output.  The  famous  "Whiskey  Combination" 
limited  the  output  of  the  distilleries  in  the  association,  i  The 
employer  as  a  producer  is  not  primarily  interested  in  the 
production  of  goods;  he  is  directly  interested  in  producing 
values.  \The  market  value  of  a  small  quantity  of  one  kind  of 
goods  may  be  greater  than  that  of  a  larger  quantity.  It  is 
often  profitable  to  restrict  the  output,  thus  enabling  the  seller 
to  raise  the  price  sufficiently  to  increase  the  total  income  from 
the  sale  of  the  product. 

(6)  By  labor  organizations.  "Unions  often  restrict  the  rate 
of  work,  or  the  output  of  their  members  for  a  given  period  of 
time,  usually  per  day.  Restriction  of  output  by  organized 


GOVERNMENT  AND   POLICIES  129 

labor  may  be  divided  into  three  classes.  \(i)  The  output  per 
hour  of  the  individual,  or  his  speed  or  rate  of  work,  may  be 
limited;  or  the  number  of  hours  during  which  he  is  allowed  to 
work  may  be  fixed.  ^  The  most  common  method  of  limiting 
the  hours  is  by  fixing  the  maximum  number  of  hours  for  a 
given  working  day.  It  is  often  asserted  that  such  a  rule  does 
not  cause  limitation  of  output  because  as  much  work  can  be 
performed  day  after  day,  year  in  and  year  out,  where  eight  or 
nine  hours  constitute  the  working  day  as  when  ten  or  twelve 
or  more  hours  are  required.  Less  frequently  limitations  have 
been  placed  upon  the  number  of  working  hours  per  year.  The 
rule  of  the  bricklayers  that  bricks  shall  not  be  laid  with  more 
than  one  hand,  and  the  prohibition  of  the  use  of  any  imple- 
ment other  than  the  trowel  in  spreading  mortar,  are  good 
examples  of  limitation  of  output.  The  reason  given  for  such 
regulations  is  improvement  in  the  quality  of  the  work.  "The 
plumbers  forbid  the  use  of  the  bicycle  in  going  from  job  to 
job  because  a  man  can  go  more  quickly  than  on  the  cars 
or  by  walking. " l  Some  years  ago  the  carpenters  of  Chicago 
adopted  the  following  rule:  "Any  member  guilty  of  exces- 
sive work  or  rushing  on  any  job  shall  be  reported  and  shall 
be  subject  to  a  fine  of  five  dollars. "  This  rule  was  directed 
against  the  practice  of  paying  a  few  men  extra  wages  to  act 
as  "rmshers"  or  pacemakers.  It  may  be  defended  as  a  health 
measure.  It  may  also  be  defended  as  necessary  in  connec- 
tion with  the  system  of  collective  bargaining.  One  man  may 
underbid  another  by  offering  to  do  a  larger  amount  of  work 
in  a  given  time  for  the  standard  wage.  Unchecked,  this 
tendency  would  lead  to  a  task  system  such  as  is  found  in  the 
sweated  industries. 

^  (2)  Certain  regulations  relating  to  the  use  of  machines  also     N^ 
aim  at  restriction  of  output.  A  Five  distinct  classes  of  regula- 

1  Hollander  and  Barnett,  Studies   in  American  Trade  Unionism,  p.  307, 
also  p.  306. 


130    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

tions  as  to  the  use  of  the  machine  may  be  distinguished:  (a) 
r  the  prohibition  of  the  use  of  the  machine,  attempted  by  the 
window-glass  workers  and  the  cigar  makers;  (b)  the  limitation 
of  the  output  of  the  machine,  as  required  by  the  soft  coal 
miners;  (c)  allowing  only  one  machine  to  be  operated  at  a 
time  by  one  man,  as  is  required  by  the  English  machinists; 
(d)  requiring  several  men  upon  one  machine,  as  is  demanded 
by  the  pressmen  and  the  stone  cutters;  (e)  requiring  skilled 
men  to  operate  the  machines,  as  has  been  done  by  the  printers 
in  regard  to  the  use  of  the  linotype.  The  rule  that  skilled 
men  be  used  as  operators  does  not  in  reality  cause  restriction 
of  output;  but  rather  is  it  a  provision  in  regard  to  payment 
of  wages. 

(3)(Union  regulations  in  regard  to  division  of  labor  may 
cause  restriction  of  output. )  Some  unions  have  attempted 
to  prevent  the  splitting  up  of  skilled  work.  Subdivision  of 
labor,  at  least  within  certain  indefinite  limits,  increases  the 
dexterity  and  the  proficiency  of  members  of  a  group  and  tends 
to  increase  the  total  output  of  the  group.  It  must  not  be 
overlooked,  however,  that  subdivision  of  labor  is  often  utilized 
as  a  method  of  reducing  wages  rather  than  of  increasing 
output. 

The  three  interested  parties  —  the  ejrnployer,  the  employee, 
and  society  or  the  general  public  —  view  the  matter  of  re- 
striction of  output  by  labor  organizations  from  quite  different 
angles  of  vision.  The  employer  is  anxious  to  keep  wages 
low,  in  his  own  establishment  at  least,  because  by  so  doing 
his  profits  will  be  increased,  and  he  will  obtain  an  advantage 
over  his  competitors,  if  he  has  competitors.  The  employer 
is  eager  to  get  as  much  work  as  possible  out  of  his  employees 
for  a  minimum  wage.  The  employee  is  interested  in  raising 
the  wage  rate  and  in  preservation  of  his  health  and  efficiency 
as  a  workman.  Both  will  unhesitatingly  declare  that  they 
favor  a  "fair"  day's  work  for  a  "fair"  wage;  but  dissensions 


GOVERNMENT  AND   POLICIES  131 

arise  over  the  interpretation  of  the  word  "fair."  Society 
desires  an  increase  in  the  total  productivity  in  terms  of  prod- 
uct, not  of  value.  But  society  is  also  interested  in  conserv- 
ing human  resources  and  in  developing  capable  and  efficient 
men  and  women.  "Killirlg  time"  or  "soldiering"  reduces 
productivity,  and  injures  the  efficiency  and  moral  stamina 
of  the  worker.  On  the  other  hand,  overdriving  and  the  long 
working  day  tend  to  destroy  the  human  resources  of  the 
nation,  and  to  lower  the  worker  to  the  level  of  the  brute 
or  of  the  automatic  machine.  The  best  —  the  normal  — 
from  the  viewpoint  of  society  is  a  mean  between  two  extremes: 
-"ca  canny"  or  "killing  time"  and  overdriving  or  "man 
killing. "  The  cost  of  the  preparation  of  a  new  generation  of 
workers  and  the  expense  of  providing  for  the  worn-out,  dis- 
abled, and  discarded  employees  are  charges  upon  the  com- 
munity, not  upon  the  business  enterprises  of  the  nation. 
Insurance  systems  for  employees  in  case  of  accidents,  sick- 
ness, old  age,  and  death,  which  make  all  or  a  part  of  the 
insurance  premiums  a  charge  upon  the  business,  would  tend 
to  minimize  overdriving  for  the  obvious  reason  that  over- 
driving quickly  wears  out  the  employees  and  increases  certain 
elements  of  expense. 

The  average  employee  will  maintain  greater  speed  and  turn 
out  a  larger  output  per  day  under  the  piece-work  system  than 
when  working  under  the  time  wage  system.  The  reason  for 
this  difference  must  be  sought  in  the  psychology  of  man.  The 
quality  of  the  work  performed  under  the  piece-work  system 
will  on  the  average  not  be  as  good  as  that  performed  under 
the  time  wage  system;  and  if  the  material  is  expensive,  much 
may  be  wasted.  Employees  work  faster  in  times  of  depres- 
sion than  in  periods  of  prosperity.  The  fear  of  discharge  is 
the  potent  incentive  during  a  time  of  depression.  This  phe- 
nomenon, which  may  also  be  traced  back  to  the  psychology 
of  the  worker,  tends  to  accentuate  the  difference  between  the 


132    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

two  periods.  The  demand  for  workers  is  increased  when 
work  is  plentiful  and  the  supply  of  unemployed  workers 
relatively  small,  and  the  demand  for  workers  is  diminished  at 
a  time  when  the  supply  of  unemployed  workers  is  relatively 
large.  In  England  the  practice  of  "going  easy" or  "  ca  canny" 
is  sometimes  utilized  as  a  diluted  form  of  the  strike.  It  is 
a  means  of  formal  and  united  protest  against  what  the 
worker  conceives  to  be  unfair  treatment. 

Restriction  of  output  by  employees  is  usually  justified  by 
the  " lump- of- work"  argument  or  the  " health-of-the-worker "  | 
argument.  The  first  argument  is  the  one  frequently  usecTby 
the  old-line  trade  unionist.  The  industrial  unionist  and  the 
unskilled  workers  usually  emphasize  the  health  argument. 
According  to  the  lump-of-work  argument  there  is  a  certain 
quantity  of  work  to  be  performed.  This  quantity  is  assumed 
to  be  practically  fixed  irrespective  of  the  expenses  of  produc- 
tion. By  ''soldiering "  and  by  " taking  it  easy, "  workers  may 
make  jobs  for  other  workmen.  As  the  wage  fund  theory  of 
the  English  classical  economists  assumed  wages  to  be  de- 
termined by  the  simple  arithmetical  method  of  dividing  the 
wage  fund  by  the  number  of  wage  earners,  the  lump-of-work 
theory  assumes  t  that  the  number  of  wage  earners  to  be  em- 
ployed may  be  ascertained  by  dividing  a  definite  amount  of 
work  to  be  performed  by  the  amount  performed  by  each 
individual,  irrespective  of  the  costs  of  production  or  the  price 
of  the  product.  ]  When  stated  in  this  bald  form  and  when 
applied  to  all  industries,  it  is  unnecessary  to  attempt  to  refute 
the  argument.  Economists  have  often  condemned  the  lump- 
of-work  argument  as  a  transparent  fallacy;  but  the  trade 
unionist  still  clings  to  it.  It  is,  therefore,  fitting  that  the 
student  of  labor  problems,  instead  of  ridiculing  and  reviling 
the  trade  unionists,  should  try  to  examine  the  matter  from 
their  viewpoint. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  economist  assumes  free- 


GOVERNMENT  AND   POLICIES  133 

dom  of  competition  and  the  mobility  of  labor,  and  that  he  is 
chiefly  concerned  with  long  periods  of  time.  The  trade 
unionist  is  interested  in  practical  affairs  in  which  economic 
friction  bulks  large,  and  he  is  intent  upon  the  "short  run." 
The  workman  is  chiefly  concerned  with  the  work  of  obtaining 
the  comforts  and  the  necessities  of  life  for  himself  and  his 
family;  he  is  only  vaguely  interested  in  that  indefinite  entity 
known  as  the  general  welfare  of  society  in  the  lump.  The 
knowledge  that  a  certain  policy,  if  pursued  by  all  for  a  period 
of  years,  will  inevitably  bring  about  reductions  in  the  wage 
scale  does  not  appeal  to  the  average  wage  earner  with  a 
family  to  feed,  clothe,  and  shelter  in  the  direct  and  forceful 
manner  that  the  immediate  probability  of  slack  work  does. 
He  sees  that  by  "nursing"  a  particular  job  he  may  work 
longer  or  another  fellow  workman  may  be  employed.  This 
is  something  tangible,  the  other  is  a  remote  and  uncertain 
possibility.  Immediate  work  for  John  overshadows  the 
vision  of  a  chance  of  future  employment  for  Tom,  Dick,  and 
Harry,  and  other  unnamed  and  unknown  individuals. 

Consider  such  a  business  as  the  stove  or  the  window-glass 
industry.  The  demand  for  stoves  or  for  window  glass  does 
not  vary  in  a  manner  commensurate  with  changes  in  the 
market  price  of  those  articles.  There  is  a  demand  which 
does  not  vary  greatly  from  year  to  year;  or,  if  it  does  vary, 
the  variations  are  due  to  changes  in  business  conditions 
rather  than  to  any  changes  in  the  price  of  stoves  or  of  window 
glass.  From  the  point  of  view  of  the  skilled  stove  molders 
or  the  window-glass  workers,  there  is  a  real,  concrete  lump  of 
work.  If  some  of  the  stove  molders  or  of  the  window-glass 
workers  "rush"  or  "increase  the  pace,"  the  others  will  be 
thrown  out  of  a  job.  Some  will  be  idle  or  they  will  be  forced 
into  other  industries.  Manufacturers  clearly  recognize  that 
the  market  will  carry  only  so  much  of  their  product,  and  a 
certain  lump-of-work  is  required  to  make  this  product.  It 


134    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

is  this  particular  lump-of-work  in  which  the  trade  unionist 
is  interested.  President  Lynch  of  the  Typographical  Union 
is  reported  to  have  stated  that  the  printers  spent  about 
$4,000,000  to  establish  the  eight-hour  day,  and  that  "for 
years  to  come  there  will  be  such  a  demand  for  printers  that 
all  who  thoroughly  learn  the  trade  will  be  paid  wages  over 
any  scale  heretofore  adopted. " [ 

The  intricacy  of  today's  industrial  operations  separates 
widely  in  time  and  space  the  effect  of  an  action  from  the  action 
itself.  This  is  one  of  the~characteristic  marks  of  the  indus- 
trial world  of  the  twentieth  century.  It  is  this  complexity 
which  often  causes  restriction  of  output.  The  effect  of  an 
action  is  not  clearly  seen;  or  its  effect  is  seen  to  be  so  widely 
distributed  that  a  man's  personal  interest  in  it  seems  infini- 
tesimal. (Again,  the  belief  that  restriction  of  output  by  wage 
earners  strikes  a  blow  at  monopoly  profits  furnishes  an 
underlying  motive  for  the  practice.  \ 

When  restricting  the  output  of  individual  workmen,  in 
order  to  make  work  for  other  workers  in  the  same  trade,  the 
union  man  is  actuated  by  selfish  motives;  he  is  interested  in 
benefiting  himself  and  the  members  of  his  union.  When 
the  unionist  adopts  this  policy  of  restriction  he  is  selfish,  and 
he  may  be  short-sighted;  but  he  is  not  devoid  of  intellectual 
acuteness.  Monopoly  is  usually  condemned  as  retarding 
economic  progress;  but  individuals  and  classes  certainly  de- 
rive economic  advantages  through  the  exercise  of  monopo- 
listic power.  Likewise,  restricting  the  output  of  workers  in 
order  to  give  employment  to  a  larger  number  in  a  restricted 
group  may  be  condemned  as  injurious  to  society,  but  it  is  not 
clear  that  the  members  of  that  particular  group  are  injured. 
And  it  is  difficult  to  successfully  prove  that  it  is  more  immoral 
for  workers  to  restrict  output  or  to  give  as  little  work  as  possi- 
ble for  as  high  a  wage  as  possible  than  for  the  managers  of 

1  American  Federationist,  Dec.,  1907,  p.  973,  first  column. 


GOVERNMENT  AND   POLICIES  135 

great  syndicates  to  restrict  output  or  to  try  to  get  as  much 
work  as  possible  for  the  least  possible  wage.1  The  lump- 
of-work  argument  is  surely  not  fantastic  as  long  as  class  or 
interest  antagonisms  play  an  important  role  in  social  and 
political  affairs,  and  in  a  country  where  each  person  is  still 
expected  and  urged  to  look  out  for  "number  one." 

Still  another  phase  of  the  argument  presents  itself.  If  the 
workers  in  one  establishment  are  speeded  up  and  those  in 
competing  establishments  maintain  the  old  rate  of  speed, 
there  is  no  certainty  that  the  speeded-up  workers  will  receive 
their  share  in  the  extra  profits  due  to  these  extraordinary 
efforts.  But  the  workers  in  other  establishments  will  soon 
be  forced  to  follow  the  lead  of  the  first  establishment,  and  the 
increase  in  total  output  may  cause^such  a  reduction  in  price 
as  to  reduce  the  total  value  of  the  output.  In  an  industry 
producing  a  product  for  which  the  demand  is  inelastic,  this  is 
not  a  purely  imaginary  contingency.  In  such  a  case,  a  read- 
justment of  wages  and  of  employment  will  occur  within  that 
industry.  Outsiders  might  benefit  from  the  speeding-up  of 
the  group,  but  the  members  of  the  group  would  lose  rather 
than  gain.  Even  if  the  value  as  well  as  the  amount  of  the 
output  were  increased,  unless  the  workers  were  strongly 
organized  —  practically  a  monopolistic  group  —  there  is 
little  reason  to  suppose  that  they  can  gain  concessions  from 
their  employer  equivalent  to  the  increased  speed  of  the  worker 
and  to  the  additional  expenditure  of  energy  required  of  him. 

Restriction  of  output  is  often  justified  as  necessary  in 
order  to  preserve  the  health  and  vigor  of  the  worker,  that  is, 
to  conserve  the  human  resources  of  the  nation.  Energy  and 
the  ability  to  produce  are  the  workingman's  capital,  but  it  is 
intangible  and  is  not  adequately  protected  by  law.  The 
trade  unionists  declare  that  speeding  up  beyond  certain  more 
or  less  definite  limits  impairs  the  efficiency  of  the  worker  and 
1  See  Mitchell,  Organized  Labor,  Chapter  29. 


136    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

reduces  the  total  output  during  his  lifetime.  From  this  point 
of  view,  it  is  little  short  of  robbery  to  quickly  wear  out  a 
workingman  and  impair  his  capital  while  only  paying  "living 
wages."  "An  industry  which  uses  up  the  vital  energy  of  a 
worker  in  a  few  years  is  coining  the  nation's  life-blood  into 
dividends.  No  industry  has  a  right  to  more  than  that  amount 
of  the  worker's  energy  which  can  normally  be  replaced  by  the 
food  and  rest  allowed  him."  l  It  is  obviously  to  the  interest 
of  the  worker  and  of  society  that  overdriving  and  sweating 
be  abolished.  As  long  as  the  policy  of  organized  labor  is 
directed  toward  such  a  consummation,  the  trade  union  is 
acting  in  a  legitimate  and  desirable  manner.  Restriction  of 
the  output  of  an  individual  worker  during  a  given  day,  week, 
or  year  may  be  justified  because  it  increases  his  total  output 
and  allows  the  worker  to  become  a  better  citizen  and  a  more 
desirable  member  of  society.  Careful  tests  could  be  made 
in  order  to  ascertain  the  proper  amount  of  time  needed  to 
perform  a  given  job.  Systematic  investigations  of  this 
nature  would  give  definite  standards  or  averages  for  the  out- 
put of  the  average  worker. 

A  third  reason  for  restricting  output  is  interesting  but  of 
relatively  slight  practical  importance.  The  regulations  of 
the  Maine  Lobster  Catchers'  Union  forbid  the  capture  of 
lobsters  under  ten  and  one-half  inches  in  length.  Such  a 
restriction  was  first  made  through  legislative  action,  but  it 
was  not  well  enforced.  Finally,  the  lobster  catchers  realized 
that  restrictive  action  was  necessary  to  save  the  industry 
from  destruction.  A  union  was  organized;  and  this  restric- 
tive measure  enforced.  The  output  for  a  given  season  is 
reduced  or  restricted  in  order  that  the  business  may  continue 
year  after  year.  "No  criticism  is  heard  from  the  public  as 
long  as  the  output  is  limited  to  save  this  fish  product  from 

1  Martin,  "Do  Trade  Unions  Limit  Output?"  Political  Science  Quarterly, 
Vol.  17  :  371. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  POLICIES  137 

utter  annihilation,  but  when  the  health  of  the  worker  is  at 
stake  in  other  industries,  there  seems  to  be  little  sympathy 
with  any  limitation  than  that  which  the  capacity  of  a  skilled 
'  pacemaker '  demonstrates . " l 

Hours  of  Labor.  One  of  the  most  familiar  and  insistent 
demands  of  organized  labor  has  been  for  a  shorter  working 
day.  A  century  ago  the  average  length  of  the  working  day 
may  be  conservatively  estimated  to  have  been  twelve  hours. 
In  cotton  factories  as  late  as  the  decade  of  the  forties  the 
working  day  was  over  twelve  hours  in  length.  Not  until 
after  1880  was  the  normal  working  day  in  breweries  reduced 
below  fourteen  hours.  An  eight-hour  day  has  been  obtained 
in  some  hazardous  and  unhealthful  occupations,  such  as 
underground  mining,  and  in  some  occupations  where  the 
trade  unions  are  very  powerful,  such  as  the  building  trades 
and  the  printing  trade.  The  Bureau  of  Labor  has  investi- 
gated the  hours  of  labor  in  four  thousand  manufacturing 
establishments  in  the  United  States.2  The  average  number 
of  hours  worked  per  week  was  found  to  have  decreased  from 
1890  to  1907  in  the  ratio  of  100.7  to  95.0.  The  average  num- 
ber of  hours  worked  per  week  in  1907  by  the  following  classes 
of  wage  earners  was: 

Trade  or  Occupation  Hours  per  week 

Blacksmiths 56.07 

Bread  Bakers 60.09 

Bricklayers 46.62 

Carpenters   47-8? 

Structural  Iron  Workers 49-35 

Machinists  (employed  by  steam  railways) 56.21 

Spinners  in  cotton  factories  (male)   59-99 

Window  Glass  Blowers  (male) 41.21 

Blast  Furnace  Workers 84.00- 

Malthouse  Men 53-o6 

Linotype  Operators  (male,  for  newspapers) 46.64 

Cigar  Makers  (male) 55-34 

1  Taylor,  Charities  and  The  Commons,  May  2,  1908,  p.  202. 

2  See  Bulletin  No.  77,  July,  1908. 


138    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

If  only  organized  workers  were  considered  the  average  would 
be  somewhat  less  than  indicated  by  the  figures  given  above. 
Strongly  organized  unions  have  been  notably  successful  in 
reducing  the  length  of  their  day.  Eight  years  ago  John. 
Mitchell  estimated  that  almost  one-half  of  the  organized 
workers  of  the  State  of  New  York  were  "  enjoying  a  maximum 
eight-hour  day." 

During  the  last  century  the  productive  powers  of  man  were 
multiplied  many  times  because  of  the  use  of  the  energy  of  coal 
and  water  through  the  agency  of  steam  and  electricity;  and  the 
total  quantity  of  human  labor  necessary  for  the  same  amount 
of  production  was  correspondingly  diminished.  As  a  conse- 
quence the  human  race  has  been  lifted  from  a  condition  of 
struggle  for  the  necessities  of  life  to  a  plane  where  comforts 
seem  possible  for  all.  The  wage  earners  insist  that  they  should 
share  in  the  benefits  derived  from  the  use  of  natural  forces 
and  machinery,  by  receiving  higher  wages  and  by  shortening 
the  working  day.  Increased  efficiency  in  production  should 
allow  wage  earners  to  raise  their  standard  of  living;  but  long 
hours  of  labor  in  factory  and  shop  have  in  the  past  been 
accompanied  by  low  standards  of  living.  Indeed,  the  funda- 
mental purpose  of  the  labor  movement  is  to  enable  the  wage 
earners  to  take  a  portion  of  the  material  and  immaterial 
benefits  accruing  to  society  as  the  result  of  industrial  advance. 

Labor  leaders  are  practically  unanimous  in  emphasizing 
the  importance  of  a  shorter  working  day.  (jn  arguing  for  the 
eight-hour  day  the  theory  is  frequently  advanced  that  wages 
depend  upon  the  standard  of  living  of  the  wage  earners.]  In 
this  contention  they  have  the  support  of  very  respectable 
authority.  Ricardo  pointed  out  that  the  "natural  price  of 
labor  varies  at  different  times  in  the  same  country,  and  very 
materially  differs  in  different  countries.  It  essentially  de- 
pends on  the  habits  and  customs  of  the  people. "  The  argu- 
ment continues  with  the  statement  that  increased  wants  are 


GOVERNMENT  AND  POLICIES  139 

the  result  of  more  time  for  leisure;  and,  hence,  a  shorter  work- 
ing day  by  raising  the  standard  of  living  will  increase  wages. 
J  As  a  matter  of  experience,  shortening  the  working  day  has 
proven  one  of  the  best  means  of  raising  wages;  and  when  a 
shorter  working  day  is  once  obtained  it  is  rarely  lengthened. 
The  man  who  has  been  receiving  $2.50  for  a  ten-hour  day  will 
not  be  content  with  $2.25  for  a  nine-hour  day;  through  his 
organization  he  will  demand  an  increase  in  the  rate  per  day. 
Wages  are  paid  out  of  the  gross  earnings  of  business  estab- 
lishments. Unless  shortening  the  working  day  actually  in- 
creases productivity,  the  increased  wage  can  only  be  paid  by 
deducting  it  from  profits,  rent,  interest,  or  monopoly  gains. 

An  expanded  and  modified  lump-of-work  argument  is  also 
advanced  by  the  trade  unionists  in  support  of  their  demand 
for  shorter  working  days.  The  familiar  and  oft-quoted 
rhyme  illustrates  the  point: 

"Whether  you  work  by  the  piece  or  work  by  the  day, 

Decreasing  the  hours  increases  the  pay. " 

With  a  shorter  working  day,  it  is  urged,  more  workers  would 
be  required  and  more  machinery  would  be  used.  Higher 
wages  and  the  increase  in  the  number  of  wage  earners  required 
would  in  turn  increase  the  demand  for  the  products  of  indus- 
try. Mr.  McNeill  puts  the  argument  in  a  pointed  way. 
"The  larger  the  demand  the  larger  will  be  the  means  of  supply; 
the  demand  determines  the  amount  produced,  the  market 
determines  the  demand,  and  the  conditions  of  the  people 
determine  the  market."1  While  this  argument  may  not  be 
without  serious  fallacies,  an  increase  in  wages  and  a  stimula- 
tion of  wants  among  the  wage  earners  does  swell  the  demand 
for  goods  and  does  lead  to  an  expansion  of  the  industries 
providing  the  comforts  and  necessities  of  life.  Tropical 
countries  do  not  offer  excellent  markets  for  the  manufactured 

1  (Pamphlet)  The  Eight-Hour  Primer,  p.  15.  See  also  Ira  Steward's  argu- 
ment, Chapter  IV. 


140    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

goods  of  the  temperate  zones  because  the  working  classes 
have  few  wants  and  receive  very  low  wages. 
/  It  is  frequently  urged  and  apparently  proven  by  statistics 
1  that  up  to  the  present  time  the  reduction  in  the  length  of  the 
)  working  day  has  not  diminished  the  volume  of  production. 
•  The  shorter  working  day  means  increased  rapidity  of  action. 
The  validity  of  this  argument  depends  upon  the  amount  of 
reduction  in  the  working  day  and  upon  the  nature  of  the 
industry  concerned.  If  a  reduction  from  twelve  to  ten 
hours  or  from  ten  to  eight  hours  does  not  diminish  the  daily 
output  of  the  average  wage  earner,  would  not  a  further  re- 
duction lead  to  a  diminution  in  the  daily  output  per  em- 
ployee? In  those  industries  in  which  alertness  and  skill  are 
required  of  the  workers,  and  in  which  the  worker  is  constantly 
subjected  to  mental  or  physical  strain,  shortening  the  working 
day  to  ten,  nine,  or  eight  hours  often  increases  the  output 
per  worker.  Some  of  the  testimony  before  the  Industrial 
Commission  was  to  the  effect  that  men  working  eight  or  nine 
hours  produced  as  much  as  those  working  for  a  longer  period 
each  day. 

The  Solvay  Process  Company,  of  Syracuse,  in  1892  adopted 
a  system  of  eight-hour  shifts  in  the  place  of  eleven  and  thir- 
teen hours.  In  1905  the  president  of  the  company  stated 
that  the  efficiency  of  the  men  was  increased,  the  time  per 
unit  of  product  reduced,  and  the  days  lost  per  man  because 
of  sickness  diminished.  In  1891  the  Zeiss  optical  factory, 
located  at  Jena,  reduced  the  working  day  to  nine  hours;  and 
in  1900  a  further  reduction  to  eight  hours  was  allowed.  The 
manager  after  a  careful  investigation  found  that  the  reduc- 
tion in  time  led  to  an  increase  in  the  total  output.  The 
Salford  Iron  Works,  of  Manchester,  England,  employing 
about  1 200  men,  in  1893,  as  an  experiment,  reduced  the 
hours  per  week  from  53  to  48.  As  the  result  of  this  experi- 
ment, the  48-hour  week  was  made  permanent. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  POLICIES  141 

On  the  other  hand,  in  industries  in  which  machinery  sets 
the  pace  and  in  which  the  work  is  chiefly  of  a  routine  charac- 
ter, the  reduction  of  the  working  day  causes  a  reduction  in  the 
daily  output  per  wage  earner.  As  an  offset  to  this  statement, 
it  may  be  said  that  the  long  working  day  increases  the  number 
of  accidents  and  the  amount  of  spoiled  work,  and  causes  the 
worker  to  be  less  diligent  in  tending  his  machine.  Machinery 
cannot  be  operated  at  a  higher  speed  for  eight  hours  than  for 
ten  or  twelve.  In  short,  there  is  an  " optimum"  for  each 
worker  and  each  industry,  "that  is,  a  minimum  time  of  labor 
resulting  in  the  largest  output." 

The  most  convincing  argument  in  favor  of  a  short  working 
day  emphasizes  its  social  value.  The  long  working  day,  par- 
ticularly when  the  WorHls  specialized  and  the  strain  intense, 
tends  to  weaken,  degrade,  and  brutalize;  the  short  working 
day  tends  to  improve  the  health  of  the  workers,  to  reduce  the 
amount  of  intemperance  and  dissipation,  to  uplift  the  worker 
and  his  family  by  giving  the  former  time  for  rational  enjoy- 
ment and  for  family  and  civic  duties,  and  to  improve  the 
stamina  of  the  race.  "The  first  school  of  morals,  family  life, 
is  a  closed  book  against  the  man  who  only  comes  home  dead 
tired  late  at  night. " l  The  man  who  works  in  shop  or  fac- 
tory twelve  hours  daily  cannot  take  an  intelligent  interest  in 
political  affairs  or  in  trade-union  policies.  In  former  centuries 
leisure  and  culture  were  the  birthright  of  the  few;  but  a  cen- 
tury of  marvelous  technical  advance  places  these  among  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  the  masses.  The  demand  for  a  shorter 
working  day  is  an  important  factor  in  the  movement  toward 
better  conditions  for  the  masses,  for  those  who  have  hitherto 
had  little  opportunity  for  anything  except  hard  and  almost 
continuous  toil. 

The  temporary  effect  of  the  sudden  reduction  of  the  length 
of  the  working  day  may  be  very  different  from  the  permanent 
1  Schulze-Gaevernitz,  Social  Peace,  p.  124. 


142    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

results.  The  temporary  effects  may  often  be  evil.  Some 
adult  workers  suddenly  released  from  work  two  or  three 
extra  hours  each  day  may  waste  the  time  in  ways  which  cause 
physical,  mental,  and  moral  deterioration.  But  in  the  long 
run  and  with  the  incoming  generation,  these  temporary  evil 
effects  will,  in  a  large  measure,  disappear,  and  better  use  will 
be  made  of  the  increased  amount  of  leisure  time.  Improve- 
ment in  the  habits,  manners,  and  customs  of  the  mass  of 
society  is  a  matter  of  slow  growth  even  under  the  most  favor- 
able circumstances.  An  eight-hour  day  for  all  manual  work- 
ers is  not  a  cure-all  for  the  social  ills  which  afflict  humanity; 
"but  if  it  secures  for  millions  of  tired  workers  an  hour  or  two 
of  leisure  which  otherwise  would  have  been  spent  in  toil;  if  it 
enables  many  who  otherwise  would  have  plodded  the  daily 
round  of  monotonous  labor  to  obtain  access  to  some  share  in 
that  larger  life  from  which  they  are  now  relentlessly  excluded; 
if  it  protects  the  future  generations  of  the  race  from  physical 
degeneration  or  mental  decay;  if  it  makes  brighter  the  lives  of 
those  who  have  toiled  that  a  small  class  among  us  might  have 
education  and  holidays  and  culture;  if  it  accomplishes  only 
partially  some  of  these  great  ends,"  it  "will  be  no  mean  ac- 
complishment. " x 

The  increasing  stress  and  nervous  strain  required  in  modern 
industry  coupled  with  increased  specialization  make  the 
necessity  for  leisure  time  imperative.  At  the  time  when 
improved  means  of  communication  and  of  transportation, 
the  enlargement  of  the  market  area,  and  the  growing  intricacy 
of  social  and  political  affairs  demand  a  broad  view  of  the 
world  and  its  activities;  occupations  and  trades  have  been  so 
specialized  and  subdivided  that  the  life  of  the  average  wage 
earner  is  cramped.  The  wage  earner's  daily  work  and  home 
environment  tend  to  contract  and  astigmatize  his  view  at  the 
time  when  peoples  and  nations  have  been  brought  into  close 

1  Webb  and  Cox,  The  Eight  Hours  Day,  p.  n. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  POLICIES  143 

contact  with  each  other.  The  disadvantages  caused  by  this 
grim  paradox  can  be  diminished  by  an  increase  in  the  amount 
of  leisure  time  allowed  routine  workers,  by  an  improvement 
in  educational  facilities  and  methods,  and  by  enlarged  oppor- 
.unity  for  healthful  amusements. 

Limitation  of  Apprentices.  The  rapid  industrial  changes 
of  recent  decades  and  the  disappearance  of  many  old  handi- 
crafts, and  the  appearance  of  many  new  and  not  well-defined 
trades,  have  made  the  apprenticeship  question  one  of  great 
practical  importance.  *  At  the  present  time,  the  apprentice 
is  rarely  able  to  learn  his  trade  from  a  journeyman  or  a  master 
workman  who  is  skilled  in  all  the  branches  of  the  work  of  his 
craft.  Subdivision  of  labor  has  reduced  the  demand  for  all- 
around  men;  and  in  the  modern  shop  adequate  instruction  of 
the  apprentice  is  a  burden  for  both  the  journeyman  and  the 
employer.  The  shop  or  the  factory  exists  for  the  purpose 
of  producing  at  a  profit  an  output  of  marketable  articles;  it 
is  not,  except  in  an  incidental  and  extraneous  manner,  an 
educational  institution.  The  journeymen  and  the  foreman 
are  not  usually  skilled  teachers;  and  the  apprentice  will  in- 
evitably spoil  considerable  material  and  damage  tools  and 
machines.  There  is  no  tangible  and  immediate  identity  of  in- 
terest between  the  employer  and  the  apprentice.  The  latter 
is  interested  primarily  in  gaining  an  adequate  knowledge  of 
the  variety  of  details  connected  with  his  trade;  on  the  other 
hand,  his  employer  is  constantly  striving  under  the  pressure 
of  competition  and  the  spur  of  the  desire  for  larger  profits, 
to  reduce  the  expenses  of  production  and  to  increase  the  out- 
put of  each  worker.  If  the  employer  sacrifices  the  efficiency 
of  his  plant  in  order  to  give  young  workers  trade  education,  he 
may  be  unable  to  meet  his  competitors  on  a  plane  of  equality. 
Although  skilled  workers  may  be  urgently  demanded,  employ- 

1  A  discussion  of  the  methods  of  training  apprentices  will  be  found  in  the 
chapter  on  Trade  and  Industrial  Education. 


144    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

ers  are  often  unwilling  individually  to  shoulder  the  burden  as 
long  as  some  shops  refuse  to  act  as  adequate  schools  for 
apprentices  and  frequently  attract  the  young  journeymen 
from  the  shop  which  has  borne  the  expense  incidental  to  his 
period  of  apprenticeship.  "  Indeed,  there  seems  to  be  a 
growing  disinclination  to  have  apprentices. " l 

In  order  that  the  apprentice  may  become  skilled  in  more 
than  one  simple  and  minute  class  of  work,  he  must  be  trans- 
ferred from  machine  to  machine  and  from  department  to 
department.  At  the  moment  when  the  apprentice  becomes 
proficient  in  any  particular  operation  he  should  be  trans- 
ferred to  some  other  job  or  department.  At  this  point, 
however,  the  immediate  considerations  of  output  lead  the 
foremen  to  desire  to  keep  the  boy  where  he  is.  Since  the 
foreman  is  naturally  more  interested  in  the  production  of 
machines  today  than  in  the  training  of  boys  who  may 
become  skilled  workers  tomorrow,  and  who  may  get  jobs 
elsewhere,  the  education  of  the  would-be  skilled  worker  is 
likely  to  suffer.  The  constant  temptation  is  to  teach  him 
a  few  simple  operations  and  to  pass  on  to  him  certain 
portions  of  the  work  hitherto  done  by  skilled  men.2  Tem- 
porarily the  employer  finds  it  advantageous  to  train  the 
young  worker  and  apprentice  for  routine  rather  than  for 
skilled  work.  When  the  latter  finally  demands  higher 
wages  he  can  be  replaced  by  another.  The  gradual  increase 
of  subdivision  of  labor  and  the  simplification  of  operations 
have  made  it  less  difficult  for  a  boy  to  learn  a  smattering  of  a 
trade,  and  more  difficult  to  learn  a  trade  thoroughly. 

(These  conditions  make  it  possible  for  employers,  if  not 
restricted  by  the  enforcement  of  adequate  apprenticeship 
rules  and  of  reasonable  child  labor  laws,  to  employ  cheap  and 
unskilled  labor  while  making  a  pretense  of  training  apprentices. 

1  Eleventh  Special  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  (1904),  p.  270. 

2  See  the  writer's  Education  and  Industrial  Evolution,  pp.  198-200. 


GOVERNMENT  AND   POLICIES  145 

Consequently,  the  skilled  union  man  fears  the  improperly 
trained  apprentice  for  much  the  same  reason  that  he  fears 
the  average  immigrant  of  recent  years.  JMany  unions  com- 
posed of  skilled  men  demand  that  the  number  of  apprentices 
in  a  shop  be  limited  and  that  provisions  be  made  lor  adequate 
instruction.  The  length  of  apprenticeship  insisted  upon  is  usu- 
ally three  or  four  years,  instead  of  the  seven  of  the  traditional 
apprenticeship  system.  The  apprenticeship  period  usually 
begins  between  the  ages  of  fifteen  and  twenty-one  years.  The 
common  ratio  of  apprentices  to  journeymen  is  one  to  five.  In 
some  of  the  building  trades  a  progressive  restriction  is  agreed 
upon.  The  Stone  Cutters  only  allow  one  apprentice  in  a 
yard  employing  less  than  fifteen  journeymen,  not  more  than 
two  in  case  less  than  one  hundred  are  employed,  and  not  more 
than  four  in  any  yard.  "Except  in  the  old  handicrafts,  which 
have  suffered  little  deterioration  from  machinery  or  new 
processes,  together  with  the  building,  the  metal,  and  the 
printing  trades,  no  provisions  regarding  entrance  to  the  trade 
are  usually  contained  in  the  agreements  between  employers 
and  employees. "  l  Strong  unions  in  trades  requiring  skilled 
work  are  most  insistent  upon  rules  regulating  apprenticeship. 
Only  a  comparatively  small  number  of  unions  are  able 
effectively  to  enforce  rules  limiting  the  number  of  apprentices. 
It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  under  the  old  form  of  apprentice- 
ship, when  the  boys  lived  with  their  employer  and  were  made 
members  of  the  family,  these  conditions  imposed  limitations 
upon  the  number  apprenticed  by  each  employer.  Trade- 
union  action  was  then  superfluous.  The  following  table  found 
in  the  Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor  (No.  67)  gives  the  re- 
quirements of  several  important  unions  in  regard  to  the  period 
of  apprenticeship. 

1  Bulletin  of  Bureau  of  Labor.     No.  67,  p.  765. 


146    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

Term  of  A  p prentice-  A  ge  when  A  ppr en- 
Union  ship  (years)  ticeship  may  be 

begun 
Minimum       Maximum 

International  Brotherhood  of  Blacksmiths 4  16  21 

Bricklayers  and  Masons'  International  Union  ...     3       (not  reported) 
Brotherhood  of  Boiler  Makers  and  Iron  Shipb'ds     3  18  21 

Brotherhood  of  Bookbinders 4  16  18 

United  Brotherhood  of  Carpenters  and  Joiners         4  16  21 

Cigar  Makers'  International  Union 3       (not  reported) 

Glass  Bottle  Blowers'  Association  5       (not  reported) 

Journeymen  Stone  Cutters'  Association     4  15  18 

United  Hatters  of  North  America 3       (not  reported)  21 

Metal  Polishers,  Buffers,  Platers,  etc.,  Union.  ...     3 

Iron  Molders'  Union    4  16 

Pattern  Makers'  League 4 

International  Typographical  Union 4  16  20 

The  next  table  presents  the  situation  in  England  in  regard 
to  union  rules  relating  to  apprenticeship.1 

(1)  Membership  of  trade  unions  actually  enforcing  apprenticeship  regulations: 

(a)  Really  restrictive  of  numbers 15,000 

(b)  Not  really  restrictive  of  numbers  at  all 25,000 

(c)  Nominally  restrictive,  but  allowing  sufficient  recruits  to  the 

trade 50,000 

90,000 

(2)  Membership  of  trade  unions  nominally  retaining  apprenticeship 

regulations,  but  effectively  open: 500,000 

(3)  Membership  of  trade  unions  having  no  apprenticeship  regulations: 

(a)  Transport  workers  and  laborers    250,000 

(b)  Textile,  mining,  and  other  occupations 650,000 

900,000 
Total  membership i  ,490,000 

The  unions  having  about  three-fifths  of  the  total  membership 
in  no  way  restrict  apprenticeship /the  unions  actually  enforc- 
ing apprenticeship  rules  contain  less  than  seven  per  cent,  of 
the  total  membership.l 

The  American  labor  organizations  which  do  not  formulate 
apprenticeship  regulations  have  been  divided  into  four 
classes. 2 

1  Webb,  Industrial  Democracy,  p.  474,  footnote. 

2  Motley,  Johns  Hopkins  University  Circular,  March,  1906. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  POLICIES  147 

/i.  Comparatively  unskilled  workers.  These  are  typically 
represented  by  the  Freight  Handlers  and  Warehousemen, 
Hod  Carriers  and  Building  Laborers,  Hotel  and  Restaurant 
Employees,  International  Brotherhood  of  Teamsters,  Inter- 
national Protective  Association  of  Retail  Clerks,  —  occupa- 
tions in  which  no  great  amount  of  training  is  required. 
[2.  Chiefly  railway  unions.  Highly  skilled  labor  is  de- 
manded, but  advancement  is  dependent  upon  proficiency. 
The  nature  of  the  work  makes  training  essential. 

X3.  Industries  in  which  minute  subdivision  of  labor  exists, 
^ittle  skilled  labor  is  required.  The  Boot  and  Shoe  Workers, 
Carriage  and  Wagon  Workers,  and  Meat  Cutters  and  Butcher 
Workmen  are  examples.  Skill  of  a  certain  kind  is  required 
in  some  cases;  but  it  is  in  a  peculiar  and  restricted  sphere,  — 
dexterity  rather  than  skill.  In  many  cases  the  chief  work  is 
that  of  carrying  material  to  and  from  machines. 

74.  Occupations  near  the  line  of  professions.  The  Actors' 
National  Protective  Union,  American  Federation  of  Musi- 
cians, and  the  Teachers'  Federation  of  Chicago  may  serve  as 
examples. 

The  chief  point  at  issue  between  the  employer  and  the 
union  in  regard  to  apprentices  touches  the  question  of  limi- 
tation of  the  number  allowed  in  a  trade.  The  differences  in 
regard  to  limitation  are  apparently  not  serious  because  only  a 
small  percentage  of  the  strikes  in  trades  insisting  upon  the 
enforcement  of  apprenticeship  rules  are  caused  by  disagree- 
ments as  to  apprentices.  In  the  building  trades  from  1887 
to  1894,  only  i.i  per  cent,  were  caused  by  such  disagreements; 
in  the  printing  trades,  2.0  per  cent.;  and  in  the  glass  trades, 
12.4  per  cent.  Of  the  strikes  ordered  by  the  Cigar  Makers' 
International  Union  from  1885  to  1901,  only  a  little  over  4.0 
per  cent,  grew  out  of  differences  in  regard  to  apprenticeship 
rules. 

In  favor  of  the  restriction  of  the  number  of  apprentices  in  a 


148    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

given  trade  several  arguments  may  be  presented,  (i)  Too 
may  apprentices  are  a  nuisance  to  journeymen;  and,  conse- 
quently, apprentices  do  not  receive  adequate  attention  unless 
the  number  is  small  in  comparison  with  the  number  of  jour- 
neymen. (2)  The  limitation  of  apprentices  prevents  a  glut  in 
the  market  for  skilled  labor.  It  assists  in  securing  "fair" 
wages  for  efficient  service.  (3)  In  the  absence  of  restrictions, 
the  tendency  on  the  part  of  many  employers  is  to  give  boys 
certain  portions  of  the  work  now  performed  by  skilled  men. 
Mature  men  may  be  displaced  and  the  wages  paid  skilled  men 
may  be  reduced.  (4)  This  policy  has  a  bad  effect  upon  the 
boys  themselves.  They  do  not  properly  learn  a  trade  and 
consequently  their  opportunities  for  advancement  are  few. 
The  improperly  trained  apprentice  always  remains  an  un- 
skilled or  semi-skilled  worker.  (5)  The  consumers  of  the 
products  are  injured  because  the  quality  of  the  output  deteri- 
orates with  the  influx  of  unskilled  and  poorly  paid  workers. 
(6)  In  the  manufacturing  industries,  the  sources  of  supply  of 
skilled  men  have  been  the  small  shop  and  Europe.  The 
small  shop  has  been  absorbed  by  the  big  concern,  and  the 
character  of  the  immigration  to  our  shores  has  materially 
changed  in  recent  decades.  In  the  long  run,  conditions  which 
do  not  permit  the  adequate  training  of  apprentices  are  in- 
jurious to  employers  as  a  class. 

In  opposition  to  the  artificial  limitation  of  the  number  of 
apprentices,  it  may  be  observed  that  such  action  is  monopolis- 
tic in  essence.  The  limitation  of  apprentices  in  a  skilled  trade 
may  produce  a  scarcity  of  skilled  labor  in  that  trade,  and 
raise  the  wages  of  those  protected  from  competition  by  these 
artificial  dikes  above  the  normal  rate  for  work  requiring  a 
similar  amount  of  training  and  skill.  As  a  consequence,  the 
supply  of  labor  will  be  increased  in  other  trades  which  are  not 
protected  by  apprenticeship  rules,  and  the  wages  in  such 
occupations  will  tend  to  be  reduced,  and  the  amount  of  unem- 


GOVERNMENT  AND   POLICIES  149 

ployment  will  also  be  increased.  Some  youths  who  are  well 
fitted  to  become  highly  proficient  in  a  given  trade  may  be 
excluded  to  their  detriment  and  to  the  detriment  of  society 
as  well.  The  Webbs  are  emphatic  in  their  assertion  that  the 
whole  apprenticeship  system  with  its  limitation  of  numbers 
is  "undemocratic  in  its  scope,  unscientific  in  its  educa- 
tional methods,  and  fundamentally  unsound  in  its  financial 
aspects."1  Too  rigid  restriction  of  numbers  is  likely  to 
defeat  the  purpose  of  such  restriction.  If  wages  are  unduly 
raised,  many  will  be  attracted  toward  that  trade  and  will 
learn  it  under  non-union  or  anti-union  supervision. 

In  view  of  the  long-continued  controversy  over  the  limi- 
tation of  apprentices,  it  is  fitting  to  inquire  as  to  the  ratio 
between  apprentices  and  journeymen  which  will  maintain  a 
supply  approximately  equal  to  the  demand  for  skilled  men. 
Without  going  into  the  intricacies  of  the  question,  one  rough 
but  fairly  adequate  test  may  easily  be  applied  by  comparing 
the  number  of  males  in  the  United  States  of  apprenticeship 
age  with  the  total  number  of  males  of  journeyman  age.  The 
age  of  apprenticeship  may  be  taken  to  be  from  sixteen  to 
nineteen  years  inclusive.  According  to  the  census  of  1900, 
there  were  2,981,065  males  of  these  ages  in  this  country.  If 
the  journeyman  age  is  considered  to  be  from  twenty  to  thirty- 
nine  years  inclusive,  there  were  12,466,309  males  in  this  group. 
If  the  journeyman  age  be  held  to  extenaTTrom  twenty  to  forty- 
four  years  inclusive,  the  number  is  increased  to  14,722,225. 
The  ratio  of  the  males  sixteen  to  nineteen  years  of  age  to  those 
twenty  to  thirty-nine  years  of  age  is  about  i  :4-i8;  in  the  latter 
case  the  ratio  is  approximately  1 14. 93.  This  rough  and  easily 
criticised  method  indicates  that  the  ratio  of  apprentices  to 
journeymen  should  be  at  least  one  to  five.  If  allowance  be 
made  for  probable  growth  in  the  industry,  it  seems  reasonable 
that  a  ratio  of  one  to  four  andone_-half  would  not  be  excess- 

1  See  also  Report  of  Industrial  Commission.  Vol.  8  :  LXXX-LXXXI. 


150    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

ive,  and  would  not  lead  to  an  over-supply  of  apprentices  in 
any  industry.1 

Incorporation  of  Labor  Organizations.  The  legal  status  of 
labor  organizations  is  not  well  defined.  In  most  states  labor 
unions  may  be  considered  to  be  voluntary  associations.  In 
some  states  the  incorporation  of  labor  organizations  is  author- 
ized; the  federal  government  has  also  legalized  the  incorpora- 
tion of  national  unions.  Employers  have  frequently  urged 
the  incorporation  of  labor  organizations  on  the  ground  that 
the  responsibility  of  the  unions  for  the  fulfilment  of  contract 
would  be  increased.  (  Labor  leaders  usually  oppose  incorpora- 
tion on  the  ground  mat  their  funds  would  be  subject  to  con- 
tinual attacks  in  the  courts  in  case  of  a  labor  dispute.  In 
the  event  of  a  strike  the  funds  of  the  union  might  also  be 
tied  up  by  an  injunction.  )  Such  action  would  cripple  the 
union  and  might  practically  end  the  struggle.  The  Massa- 
chusetts Bureau  of  Statistics  of  Labor  in  1906  found  as  the 
result  of  a  questionnaire  that  42  out  of  53  labor  leaders  replying 
believed  that  the  incorporation  of  trade  unions  would  "be 
inimical  to  their  interests."  The  remaining  eleven  replied 
that  in  their  judgment  it  would  not  be  inimical.  Of  the 
employers  questioned  only  twelve  agreed  with  the  majority 
of  the  labor  leaders;  and  thirty  agreed  with  the  minority. 

However,  the  court  in  the  famous  English  decision  in  what 
is  known  as  the  Taff  Vale  Case  ordered  an  unincorporated 
union  to  be  penalized  because  its  officers  and  members  were 
adjudged  guilty  of  persuading  workmen  to  break  their  contract 
and  for  encouraging  acts  of  violence  against  the  complainant, — 
the  Taff  Vale  Railway  Company.  In  1906  a  Trades  Dispute 
Act  was  passed  by  the  English  Parliament  to  remove  the 
effect  of  the  Taff  Vale  decision.  It  amended  the  law  of  con- 
spiracy in  case  of  labor  disputes  so  that  acts  performed  by 
a  combination  of  persons  are  not  actionable  if  they  are  not 

1  See  article  by  the  writer,  Cassier's  Magazine,  April,  1905. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  POLICIES  151 

actionable  when  performed  by  one  person.  Peaceful  picket- 
ing was  legalized  and  an  action  against  a  trade  union,  its 
officials,  or  members  in  respect  to  any  tortious  act  committed 
in  behalf  of  the  trade  union  shall  not  be  entertained.  In  the 
Danburv  Hatters'  Case,  an  un-incorporated  union,  the  United 
Hatters  of  America  was  adjudged  guilty  of  being  a  combina- 
tion in  restraint  of  trade  and  was  fined  $222,000.  under  the 
provisions  of  the  Sherman  an ti- trust  law.  -Kris'case  is  looked 
upon  by  members  of  labor  organizations  as  the  American 
Taff  Vale  decision.1  Labor  leaders,  fearing  further  assaults 
upon  union  treasuries  in  the  event  of  strikes  or  boycotts,  are 
demanding  that  Congress  pass  a  law  specifically  exempting 
labor  organizations  from  the  penalties  of  the  anti-trust  law. 

Benefit  Features.  Among  English  labor  organizations  bene- 
fit features  are  of  greater  importance  than  among  American 
unions.  Before  unions  were  legalized  in  England  in  1824, 
many  unions  actually  existed  under  the  guise  of  benefit  asso- 
ciations. Several  reasons  may  be  given  for  the  greater 
prominence  of  these  features  in  England.  The  English 
organizations  are  older;  they  are  more  closely  united;  English 
unions  are  trade  unions,  not  industrial  unions,  and  therefore 
only  contain  men  having  approximately  the  ^same  skill  and 
income;  tjie  membership  of  the  English  unions  include  few 
who  are  not  of  English  birth  and  descent;  the  mobility  of 
labor  is  not  as  great  as  in  this  country;  insurance  against  sick- 
ness and  unemployment  did  not  appear  particularly  desirable 
to  the  workers  in  a  new  country  of  great  possibilities  and  rich 
in  undeveloped  resources;  and  the  militant  activities  of  Ameri- 
can unions  have  been  more  important  and  absorbing  than  in 
the  case  of  English  unions.  In  recent  years,  American  unions 
are  laying  more  and  more  stress  upon  benefit  features.  In  a 
country  like  Germany,  where  insurance  against  accident, 

1  In  April,  1911,  this  verdict  was  set  aside  by  a  federal  circuit  court  and 
a  new  trial  ordered. 


152     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

sickness,  and  old  age  is  compulsory,  it  is  not  necessary  for 
unions  to  emphasize  this  form  of  activity. 

In  the  year  1901  the  income  of  one  hundred  "principal 
trade  unions  of  the  United  Kingdom"  was  $10,032,295.  The 
total  expenditures  for  the  year  were  $8,057,147.  This  was 
divided  among  the  following  items:  —  unemployed,  travel- 
ing, and  emigration  benefits,  $1,585,827;  dispute  benefits, 
$995,282;  sick  and  accident  benefits,  $1,678,135;  superannu- 
ated benefits,  $987,666;  funeral  benefits,  $480,883;  other  bene- 
fits and  grants  to  members,  $177,476;  payments  to  Federations, 
grants  to  other  societies,  etc.,  $308,224;  working  and  other 
expenses,  $1,843,654.  Over  one-half  of  the  expenditures  of 
these  organizations  were  spent  on  benefits  other  than  strike 
benefits.  From  1892  to  1901  inclusive,  the  one  hundred 
organizations  contributed  nearly  eighteen  per  cent,  of  their 
total  expenditures  to  the  payment  of  sick  and  accident  bene- 
fits. During  the  same  period  the  printing  trades  utilized 
nearly  one-half  of  their  expenditures  in  the  payment  of  un- 
employed '  benefits. 

The  Cigar  Makers'  International  Union  has  been  called 
"the  beneficiary  organization  of  the  United  States."  Its 
system  is  noTas  complete,  however,  as  those  maintained  by 
some  English  unions.  In  1905  this  union  paid  strike,  sick, 
death,  traveling,  and  out-of-work  benefits.  With  few  ex- 
ceptions, such  as  the  railway  brotherhoods,  the  death  bene- 
fits paid  by  American  unions  are  small,  ranging  from  $^o  to 
$500  as  a  rule.  The  United  Brotherhood  of  Carpenters  and 
Joiners  pay  death  benefits  ranging  from  $50  to  $400.  Strike 
benefits  vary  from  $^.00^10^8.00  per  weelc.  The  Machinists' 
Union  pays  $6.00  to  single  men  and  $8.00  to  married  men. 
The  sick  benefits  are  usually  about  $4.00  to  $5.00  per  week. 
American  unions  have  delayed  the  adoption  of  the  super- 
annuation benefits  or  old  age  pensions.  The  system  recently 
adopted  by  the  International  Typographical  Union  will  be 


GOVERNMENT  AND  POLICIES  153 

considered  in  a  later  chapter.  The  Cigar  Makers'  Union  is 
the  only  national  body  paying  a  weekly  benefit  to  its  unem- 
ployed members.  Some  unions  remit  the  payment  of  dues 
in  case  of  unemployment,  and  a  few  pay  traveling  benefits  to 
the  members  who  wish  to  seek  work  in  some  other  place.  In 
nearly  all  unions,  benefit  funds  are  not  kept  separate  from 
other  funds  in  the  treasury.  A  large  fund  which  has  been 
accumulated  ostensibly  for  insurance  purposes  can  be  used 
for  coercive  activities.  In  this  way  an  aggressive  union  may 
be  furnished  a  powerful  weapon. 

An  unique  form  of  union  benefits  is  the  marriage  dowry  of 
the  National  Federation  of  Woman  Workers,  a  British  organ- 
ization. If  a  woman  has  paid  her  union  dues  for  several 
years  and  has  received  no  direct  benefits  from  the  organiza- 
tion, she  naturally  feels  that  she  ought  to  receive  some  kind 
of  a  bonus  when  she  marries  and  leaves  the  union.  Such  a 
provision  will  also  encourage  young  women  to  join  a  union. 
The  provision  in  the  constitution  of  the  Federation  reads 
thus:  —  "In  the  event  of  the  marriage  of  a  member,  if  she 
has  been  a  full  member  for  two  years,  and  has  not  received 
out-of-employment  or  sick  benefit  during  the  period  of  her 
membership,  the  central  council  shall  refund  50  per  cent,  of 
the  amount  of  her  contributions,  providing  she  is  leaving 
her  trade  and  terminating  her  membership."  The  mar- 
riage dowry  has  been  proposed  for  the  women  workers  in 
American  unions;  but  it  will  probably  be  necessary  to  bal- 
ance it  by  some  pension  scheme  for  old  and  unmarried 
women  workers. 

The  effects  of  the  benefit  system  upon  labor  organizations 
may  be  summarized  as  follows:  (i)  It  tends  to  increase  the 
membership  and  to  make  it  more  stable.  The  direct  and 
visible  flow  of  benefits  stimulates  loyalty  to  the  organization. 
(2)  The  national  body  is  strengthened.  (3)  Unions  having 
large  benefit  funds  in  their  treasury  are  more  conservative 


154    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

than  those  having  an  empty  treasury;  although  the  presence 
of  funds  increases  the  probability  of  successful  aggressive 
action,  the  union  without  funds,  like  the  man  without  proper- 
erty,  is  predisposed  to  radical  action.  (4)  The  disciplinary 
power  of  the  union  over  its  members  is  strengthened  by  the 
use  of  benefit  features.  A  member  of  a  local  union  will  not 
withdraw  upon  slight  provocation  and  thus  lose  the  right  to 
receive  valuable  benefits.  (5)  The  payment  of  large  benefits 
has  been  a  feature  of  trade  unions  rather  than  of  industrial 
unions.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  greater  difficulties 
will  be  encountered  in  working  out  a  successful  system  for  an 
industrial  union  in  which  are  united  men  of  varying  skill  and 
intelligence,  and  of  different  nationalities.  The  benefit  sys- 
tem of  the  trade  unions  may  tend,  therefore,  to  emphasize 
trade  demarcations,  to  increase  jurisdictional  disputes,  and 
to  delay  the  amalgamation  of  labor  into  a  strong  coherent 
centralized  body.  (6)  The  English  unions  use  the  out-of- 
work  benefits  as  a  means  of  controlling  the  labor  market  within 
a  particular  trade.  A  skilled  worker  who  is  receiving  an  out- 
of-work  benefit  will  not  be  sorely  tempted  to  take  a  job  at  a 
rate  below  the  standard  wage.  This  policy  would  have  little 
prospect  of  success  in  the  case  of  unskilled  occupations. 

In  estimating  the  probable  development  of  benefit  features 
among  American  labor  organizations,  three  points  must  be 
kept  in  the  foreground:  (a)  The  establishment  of  a  system 
of  workingmen's  insurance  through  governmental  action  or 
mandate  would  prevent,  or  modify  in  a  considerable  degree, 
the  course  of  further  expansion  of  the  benefit  features  of  such 
organizations,  (b)  If  industrial  unionism  increases  relatively 
to  trade  unionism,  the  extension  of  the  benefit  system  will 
probably  be  retarded,  (c)  As  a  consequence  of  the  decision 
in  the  Hatters'  Case,  unless  legislation  similar  to  the  English 
Trades'  Dispute  Act  is  passed,  unions  having  full  treasuries 
may  fear  legal  attacks  upon  their  funds  in  case  of  a  labor 


GOVERNMENT    AND    POLICIES  155 

dispute.     Consequently,  aggressive  unions  may  deem  it  un- 
wise to  develop  an  important  system  of  union  benefits. 

REFERENCES  FOR  FURTHER  READING 

Report  of  Industrial  Commission.    Vols.  17  and  19  :  723-955. 
Adams  and  Sumner,  Labor  Problems.     Ch.  7. 

Government 

Hollander  and  Barnett,  Studies  in  American  Trade  Unionism.     Chs.  2 
and  3. 

Mitchell,  Organized  Labor.     Ch.  10. 
Commons,  Trade  Unionism  and  Labor  Problems.     Ch.  2. 
Webb,  Industrial  Democracy.     Pt.  I,  Chs.  2  and  3. 
Report  of  the  Industrial  Commission.    Vol.  1 7  :  xrx-xxxin. 

Disputes  Between  Unions 
Mitchell,  Organized  Labor.     Ch.  31. 
Webb,  Industrial  Democracy.     Pt.  I,  Ch.  4. 
Report  of  the  Industrial  Commission.    Vol.  17  :  LXDC-LXXIV. 

Introduction  of  Machinery 
Barnett,   "Introduction  of  the  Linotype,"   Yale  Review.     Vol.    13: 

251-273- 

Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor.     No.  67,  pp.  731-743. 

Hadley,  Economics.     Ch.  n. 

White,  "Machinery  and  Labor,"  Annals  of  American  Academy  of 
Political  and  Social  Science.    Vol.  20:  223-331. 
Collective  Bargaining 

Webb,  Industrial  Democracy.     Pt.  2,  Chs.  2  and  5.     Pt.  3,  Ch.  13 
(section  b). 

Hollander  and  Barnett,  Studies  in  American  Trade  Unionism.     Ch.  5. 
The  Closed  Shop 

Commons,  "Causes  of  the  Union-Shop  Policy,"  Publications  of  the 
American  Economic  Association.     1905.     3d  series,  Vol.  6:  140-159. 

Marks,  The  Independent,  May  26,  1910. 

Stockton,  "Methods   of   Enforcement,"  Johns   Hopkins   University 
Circular.     No.  224.     April,  1910. 

Bullock,    "The    Closed    Shop,"   Atlantic   Monthly,   October,    1904, 

PP-  433-439- 

Bascom,  "An  Open  versus  a  Closed  Shop."  North  American  Review, 
June,  1905. 


156    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

Restriction  of  Output 

Eleventh  Special  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  (1904). 

Mitchell,  Organized  Labor.     Ch.  29. 

Length  of  the  Working  Day 

Report  of  the  Industrial  Commission.     Vol.  19  :  763-793. 

Mitchell,  Organized  Labor.     Ch.  15. 

Report  on  the  Cost  of  Living.     Massachusetts,  1910.    Pp.  438-474. 

Bolen,  Getting  A  Living.     Ch.  15. 

McVey,  "Social  Effect  of  the  Eight-Hour  Day,"  American  Journal  oj 
Sociology.     ¥01.8:521-530- 

Limitation  of  Apprentices 

Motley,  "Apprenticeship  in  American  Trade  Unions,"  Johns  Hopkins 
University  Studies.     Twenty-fifth  Scries. 

Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor.     No.  67. 

Webb,  Industrial  Democracy.     Pt.  2,  Ch.  10. 

Hollander  and  Barnett,  Studies  in  American  Trade  Unionism.     Ch.  9. 

Carlton,  "  The  Apprenticeship  Question  in  America,"  Cassicr's  Maga- 
zine.     Vol.  27  :  499-501. 

Mitchell,  Organized  Labor.      Ch.  30. 

Wright,  "  The  Apprenticeship  System  in  its  Relation   to  Industrial 
Education,"  Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Education.      Whole  No.  389. 

Stephens,  "  The  New  Apprenticeship,"  Journal  of  Political  Economy. 
Vol.  19:  17-35. 

Documentary  History  of  American  Industrial  Society.     Vol.  5  :  67-74. 
"  Apprenticeship,  1820-1840." 

Benefit  Features 

Twenty-third  Annual  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  (1909). 
Weyl,  "  Benefit  Features  of  British  Trade  Unions,"   Bulletin  of  the 
Bureau  of  Labor.      No.  64. 

Webb,  Industrial  Democracy.      Pt.  2,  Ch.  i. 

Commons,  Trade  Unionism  and  Labor  Problems.      Ch.  24. 

Hollander  and  Barnett,  Studies  in  American  Trade  Unionism.    Ch.  n. 


CHAPTER  VH 

COERCIVE    METHODS  > 

Strikes  and  Lockouts.  A  "strike,"  according  to  the  defi- 
nition given  by  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Labor,  "is  a 
concerted  withdrawal  from  work  by  a  part  or  all  of  the  em- 
ployees of  an  establishment,  or  several  establishments,  to 
enforce  a  demand  on  the  part  of  the  employees."  A  strike 
occurs  when  wage  earners  unitedly  cease  work  but  attempt 
to  retain  their  places  as  employees.  The  purpose  of  a  strike 
is  usually  to  obtain  some  improvement  in  working  conditions 
or  to  prevent  some  change  which  is  considered  disadvanta- 
geous to  the  workmen.  Occasionally,  the  primary  motive  may 
be  malicious.  When  the  employer  closes  his  shop  because 
of  a  disagreement  with  his  employees  a  lockout  occurs.  The 
difference  between  a  strike  and  a  lockout  lies  chiefly  in  the 
initiation  of  the  action  which  stops  the  wheels  of  the  industry. 
The  strike  is  one  of  the  most  formidable  weapons  in  labor's 
armory.  It  is  not  a  logical  or  a  just  way  of  settling  industrial 
disputes;  it  is  in  essence  an  appeal  to  financial  or  brute 
strength  and  endurance. 

The  slave  insurrections  of  Rome  and  the  peasant  wars  of 
medieval  Europe  were  the  prototypes  of  the  strike.  Some 
references  to  strikes  are  found  in  the  history  of  the  fourteenth, 
fifteenth,  and  sixteenth  centuries.  The  earliest  strike  in  Amer- 
ica of  which  we  have  any  knowledge  occurred  in  1740  or  1741. 
The  journeyman  bakers  of  New  York  City  struck  for  an 
increase  of  wages.  The  bakers  were  tried  for  conspiracy  and 
convicted,  but  no  record  appears  to  prove  that  sentence  was 
passed  upon  them.  The  shoemakers  of  Philadelphia  con- 

157 


158    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

ducted  strikes  in  1796,  1798,  and  1799.  In  1803  a  strike  of 
sailors  occurred  in  New  York  City.  The  sailors  demanded  an 
increase  of  wages  from  $10  to  $14  per  month.  In  1809  the 
cordwainers  of  New  York  City  went  on  a  strike.  The  term 
"scab"  was  used  at  this  time.  During  the  period  of  rising 
prices  immediately  preceding  the  panic  of  1837  many  strikes 
occurred.  The  oft-quoted  statement  of  a  New  York  City 
newspaper  in  1835  was  that  "strikes  are  all  the  fashion." 
A  unique  strike  occurred  during  this  period  among  the  women 
shoebinders  of  Lynn.  These  women  were  home  workers. 
They  called  a  meeting  and  resolved  that  no  more  work  should 
be  done  until  an  increase  in  wages  was  granted.  After  a 
struggle  of  about  four  weeks  the  strike  was  lost.  These  early 
strikers  were  not  of  far-reaching  importance.  Labor  organi- 
zations were  ephemeral;  and  the  relations  between  employer 
and  employee  were  in  a  large  measure  personal  and  bargain- 
ing was  individual.  The  strikes  of  far-reaching  influence  in 
which  the  general  public  are  vitally  interested  appear  at  a 
later  date.  The  first  great  labor  dispute  in  the  United  States 
was  the  railway  strike  of  1877.  This  strike  stopped  railway 
traffic  and  was  accompanied  by  serious  rioting  and  the  de- 
struction of  property.  The  center  of  the  disturbance  was  at 
Pittsburgh.  State  troops  were  called  out  and  gatling  guns 
were  used.1 

No  accurate  statistics  of  strikes  and  lockouts  prior  to  1881 
are  available.  Since  1881  the  Bureau  of  Labor  has  fur- 
nished carefully  compiled  statistics  of  labor  disturbances. 
The  Bureau  has  obtained  information  regarding  1,440  strikes 
and  lockouts  in  the  period  of  1741  to  1 88 1.  Of  this  total  only 
four  occurred  prior  to  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
During  the  quarter  of  a  century  from  1881  to  1905  inclusive, 
36,757  strikes  are  recorded  directly  affecting  181,407  estab- 
lishments. The  largest  number  of  strikes  occurring  in  one 

1  Sixteenth  A  nnual  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor.     Chapter  III. 


COERCIVE    METHODS  159 

year  was  3,494  in  1903.  The  maximum  number  of  employ- 
ees thrown  out  of  work  is  found  in  1894,  the  year  in  which 
occurred  the  Pullman  strike.  The  number  was  660,425.  In 
1902,  in  which  year  occurred  the  anthracite  coal  strike,  659,792 
employees  were  thrown  out  of  work  because  of  strikes.  The 
total  number  of  lockouts  during  the  period  1881  to  1905  was 
1,546;  and  the  number  of  employees  locked  out,  716,231. 
Slightly  more  than  one-fourth  of  the  total  number  of  strikes 
occurred  in  the  building  trades;  but  nearly  one-third  of  the 
total  number  of  strikers  were  in  the  coal  and  coke  industry. 
Nearly  one-half  of  the  total  number  of  strikes  occurred  in 
three  great  industrial  states,  —  New  Yorji,  Penngylvaaia,  and 
Illinois.  Of  the  total  number  of  strikers  involved,  one-fourth 
were  in  Pennsylvania.  More  strikes  occurred  during  the  five- 
year  period,  1901-1905,  than  during  the  preceding  decade. 
The  totals  are  13,964  and  13,620  respectively.1  A  study  of 
a  statistical  table  of  strikes  bears  out  the  opinion  that  strikes 
are  symptomatic  of  prosperity  rather  than  of  industrial  de- 
pression. The  worker  makes  his  demands  for  a  shorter  work- 
ing day,  increased  wages,  and  better  working  conditions 
when  the  financial  skies  are  bright.  If  the  attention  is  di- 
rected to  the  losses  in  wages  and  to  the  number  of  employees 
involved  in  strikes,  the  validity  of  this  conclusion  may  be 
questioned.  Professor  Farnam,  measuring  the  intensity  of 
labor  disturbances  by  an  index  obtained  by  multiplying  the 
number  of  persons  concerned  in  strikes  by  the  average  dura- 
tion, draws  the  pertinent  conclusion  that  strikes  are  the  evi- 
dence of  friction  connected  with  a  process  of  readjustment. 
"They  are,  therefore,  liable  to  occur  during  the  readjustment 
following  bad  times  as  well  as  during  the  readjustment  which 
comes  with  rising  prices  and  prosperity. " 

Causes  of  Strikes.     The  following  table  gives  the  relative 

1  Statistics  compiled  from  the  Twenty-first  Annual  Report  of  the  Commissioner 
of  Labor.    Chapter  I. 


160    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

importance  of  several  of  the  most  important  causes  of  strikes 
as  determined  by  the  Bureau  of  Labor.  Such  a  table  must 
be  used  with  caution  because  undoubtedly  the  apparent 
cause  of  a  strike  is  often  not  the  real  cause,  and  because 
almost  every  strike  is  the  result  of  a  complex  of  causes  rather 
than  of  one  distinct  cause.  The  following  table  shows  the 
shifting  importance  of  certain  leading  and  fairly  definite 
causes  of  strikes: 


Cause  or  Object  1881         1891         IQOI 

Per  cent.      Per  cent.      Per  cent.      Per  cent. 

For  increase  of  wages  .................  61.15  26.67  29.04  32.24 

Against  reduction  of  wages  ............  10.40  10.77  4-34  ~&9& 

For  reduction  of  hours  ................  2.97  4.95  7.01  5.01 

Concerning  recognition  of  union  and 

union  rules  ........................  5.73  14.27  27.98  30.86 

The  relative  increase  in  the  number  of  strikes  caused  by  con- 
troversies over  union  rules  is  rapid;  and  is  indicative  either 
of  the  growing  strength  of  labor  organizations  or  of  the  in- 
creasing antagonism  of  employers'  associations,  or  of  both. 

Of  the  strikes  during  the  period,  68.99  Per  cent,  were  or- 
dered by  labor  organizations.  In  1904,  a  year  of  industrial 
prosperity,  labor  organizations  ordered  82.14  per  cent,  of  all 
the  strikes;  but  in  1895,  a  year  of  industrial  lassitude,  they 
were  responsible  for  only  54.25  per  cent.  Of  the  strikes 
ordered  by  unions  during  the  twenty-five  years,  49.48  per 
cent,  succeeded,  15.87  per  cent,  "succeeded  partly,"  and 
34.65  per  cent,  failed.  Of  those  not  ordered  by  labor  organi- 
zations, the  percentages  are  33.86,  9.83,  and  56.31  respec- 
tively. 

An  examination  of  the  statistics  of  strikes  during  the  period 
1  88  1  to  1905  warrants  several  interesting  conclusions.1  (i)  A 
rapid  absolute  increase  in  the  number  of  strikes  has  occurred. 

1  Compare  with  Huebner,  Report  of  the  Wisconsin  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics, 
1905-1906. 


COERCIVE    METHODS  161 

This  statement  applies  also  to  practically  every,  important 
European  country  except  England.  Two  reasons  may  be 
ventured  for  the  unique  situation  in  England:  (a)  The 
English  unions  are  strongly  organized  and  the  limit  has  nearly 
been  reached  in  the  direction  of  securing  improved  working 
conditions  by  the  use  of  direct  means.  The  activity  of  the 
unions  is,  therefore,  partially  diverted  into  political  channels. 
(6)  England  is  losing  her  industrial  supremacy  and  the  amount 
of  unemployment  is  increasing;  therefore,  the  present  is  not 
an  opportune  time  for  labor  organizations  to  conduct  strikes. 

(2)  The  wage  rate  is  losing  its  importance  as  a  cause  of 
strikes.     In  1881,  71.55  per  cent,  of  the  strikes  were  attrib- 
uted solely  to  this  cause;  in  1905  the  percentage  was  37.20. 
In  the  year  ending  September  30,  1907,  98  per  cent,  of  the 
advances  in  wages  reported  by  the  Massachusetts  Bureau  of 
Labor  Statistics  were  given  without  recourse   to  a  strike. 

(3)  The  importance  of  purely  union  causes  of  strikes  is  rapidly 
increasing.    (4)  Excepting  the  year  1905,  the  number  of  em- 
ployees and  establishments  annually  affected  by  strikes  tends 
to  increase.    (5)  The  growing  strength  of  labor  organizations 
is   making    the    strike   a   more    formidable    and    dangerous 
weapon.     On  the  other  hand,  the  progress  toward  centraliza- 
tion in  the  control  of  capital  gives  the  employer  a  position  of 
advantage.    The  percentage  of  successful  strikes  is  declining 
rather  than  increasing.     (6)  Strikes  are  becoming  of  greater 
importance  to  both  parties  directly  concerned,  and  to  the 
general  public. 

Violence  Connected  with  Strikes  and  Lockouts.  Extreme 
differences  of  opinion  exist  as  to  the  prevalence  of  violence 
during  strikes,  and  as  to  the  attitude  of  organized  labor 
toward  the  use  of  force  in  labor  disputes.  John  Mitchell 
declares  that  "the  conduct  of  strikes  without  violence  is  as 
advantageous  and  successful  as  the  use  of  violence  is  futile 
and  immoral.  In  the  long  run,  violence  acts  as  a  boomerang 


1 62     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

and  defeats  its  own  purposes."  On  the  other  hand,  a  cham- 
pion of  the  ''union  smashers"  declares:  " Organized  labor 
knows  but  one  law,  and  that  is  the  law  of  physical  force  — 
the  law  of  the  Huns  and  Vandals,  the  law  of  the  savage.  All 
its  purposes  are  accomplished  either  by  actual  force  or  by  the 
threat  of  force. "  The  violence  occurring  during  a  strike  is 
often  exaggerated;  and  much  violence  is  due  to  outsiders  or 
to  the  unauthorized  acts  of  irrepressible  members  of  the  union. 
Under  any  condition,  the  presence  of  large  numbers  of  idle 
men  in  a  mining  town  or  a  manufacturing  city  is  prolific  of 
brawls  and  of  violation  of  law.  Every  holiday  brings  its 
additions  to  the  normal  number  of  disturbances  in  a  city. 
Furthermore,  it  is  not  fair  to  hold  the  union  and  union  officers 
responsible  for  all  the  acts  of  union  men.  Newly  organized 
and  undisciplined  unions  of  unskilled  or  semi-skilled  men  are 
most  prone  to  resort  to  violence.  Well-organized  unions  of 
skilled  men,  supported  by  a  full  treasury,  usually  discoun- 
tenance violence.  A  strike  is,  however,  an  attempt  to  coerce 
an  employer  or  combination  of  employers;  and  close  contact 
between  union  men  and  strike  breakers  always  contains 
elements  of  danger.  "In  short,  I  see  no  escape  from  the 
conclusion  that  the  typical  strike  is  waged  in  an  atmosphere 
so  surcharged  with  menace,  that  wide-spread  intimidation  and 
sporadic  acts  of  violence  are  precipitated  as  inevitably  as  the 
atmosphere  of  the  earth  precipitates  dew."1 

It  must  not  be  forgotten,  however,  that  employers  are  often 
as  brutal  as  the  union  "sluggers";  but  in  a  less  conspicuous 
and  more  impersonal  manner.  They  are  ready,  and  some- 
times eager,  to  starve  their  striking  workmen,  or  to  terrorize 
them  into  submission.  The  unionist  is  justified  in  calling 
attention  to  the  fact  that  much  is  spoken  and  written  as  to 
what  the  union  men  should  do  or  not  do,  while  but  little  is 

1  Adams,  Publications  of  the  American  Economic  Association,  Feb.,  1906, 
p.  179. 


COERCIVE    METHODS  163 

said  as  to  the  responsibilities  of  employers  to  men  locked  out, 
for  the  use  of  the  black  list,  for  the  hiring  of  private  police, 
and  for  the  eviction  of  helpless  tenants.  The  employer  can 
often  accomplish  his  purpose  in  such  a  way  that  the  motive 
is  hidden.  Brutality  on  the  part  of  the  employer  may  be 
clothed  in  the  radiant  garb  of  altruism,  —  not  so  in  the  case 
of  the  employee.  The  employer  can  use  more  subtle,  but  just 
as  effective,  weapons  than  the  club.  Employers,  as  well  as 
their  striking  employees,  often  break  laws,  —  such  as  the  acts 
in  regard  to  safeguarding  machinery,  rebating,  adulterating 
products,  etc.  Bribery  and  the  corruption  of  governmental 
inspectors  are  by  no  means  unknown.  The  employer  often 
sets  the  employee  an  example  of  law  evasion;  and  then  the 
former  too  often  escapes  punishment  because  of  technicalities 
in  legal  procedure  or  through  political  favoritism.  We  should 
not  condone  strike  violence  on  the  part  of  harassed  working- 
men,  but  we  should  more  strongly  condemn  the  long-distant 
and  dispassionate  maiming  and  murder  of  workers.  The  man 
who  stuffs  the  ballot-box,  pumps  polluted  water  into  water 
pipes,  or  refuses  to  guard  his  machinery  as  the  law  requires, 
commits  a  crime  just  as  much  as  does  the  workman  when  he 
slugs  the  ''scab"  who  has  taken  his  job.  In  the  McKees 
Rocks  strike  (1909),  the  strikers  are  reported  to  have  asserted, 
correctly  or  incorrectly,  that  troops  had  been  used  to  break 
down  their  organization.  It  was  further  asserted  that  strikers 
had  been  shot  down  when  there  was  no  lawful  occasion 
for  shooting.  The  strikers  finally  held  that  a  state  of  war 
existed,  and  threatened  to  shoot  a  trooper  for  every  striker 
shot  by  the  state  troops. 

The  intense  hatred  manifested  towards  the  strike  breaker 
or  "scab"  is  a  cause  of  much  violence  during  the  course  of  a 
strike.  The  circumstances  which  produce  this  intense  aver- 
sion are  often  not  clearly  recognized.  A  strike  frequently 
involves  the  threat,  if  not  the  reality,  of  poverty  and  suffering 


1 64    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

for  the  families  of  the  strikers.  The  strike  breaker  is  one  who 
seems  to  be  taking  the  bread  out  of  the  mouths  of  the  wife 
and  children  of  the  striker.  Early  wars  were  usually  fought 
for  the  control  of  food  supplies.  A  job  is  the  modern  source 
of  supply  for  the  mass  of  the  people.  It  is  natural  that  "  Thou 
shalt  not  take  thy  neighbor's  job"  should  be  a  real,  living 
commandment  to  the  wage  earner.  It  is  not  strange  that 
the  strike  breaker  should  be  considered  to  be  an  outcast  and 
a  traitor  to  his  class.  Business  combinations  hate  the  price- 
cutting  establishment  and  often  try  to  injure  it.  Physicians 
and  dentists  are  very  bitter  toward  the  advertising  and  fee- 
cutting  members  of  their  respective  professions.  It  may  also 
not  be  entirely  gratuitous  to  point  out  (i)  that  in  America 
there  has  been  much  disregard_of  human  life,  — - "mucli  mob 
violence,  many  accidents  in  factories  and  on  railways,  many 
lynchings,  and  numerous  homicides.  Human  life  is  valued 
cheaply  in  this  country.  (2)  The  man  who  is  accustomed  to 
face  danger  in  the  shop,  on  the  railway,  or  in  the  occupation 
of  a  linesman  is  not  likely  to  be  adverse  to  the  use  of  vio- 
lence when  his  passions  are  aroused. 

Losses  due  to  Strikes  and  Lockouts.  The  Bureau  of  Labor 
estimated  that  the  total  loss  due  to  strikes  and  lockouts  dur- 
ing the  period  of  twenty  years  from  1881  to  1900  was  approx- 
imately $469,000,000.  This  is  a.  large  sum;  but  it  amounts 
to  an  expense  of  only  about  three  cents  per  month  per  inhabi- 
tant of  the  United  States.  The  worJongnran  has  spent  less 
than  one  per  cent,  of  his  income  on  strikes.  The  total  loss  in 
unemployment  amounts  to  approximately  194,000,000  days; 
but  spread  over  the  entire  period  of  two  decades  it  amounts 
to  less  than  one  day  per  year  per  adult  worker.1  It  is  not 
difficult  to  exaggerate  the  financial  losses  due  to  strikes. 
Frequently  the  time  of  unemployment  is  merely  shifted  from 
one  season  of  the  year  to  another.  The  following  statement 

1  Mitchell,  Organized  Labor,  pp.  309-310. 


COERCIVE    METHODS  165 

from  the  Report  of  the  Industrial  Commission  is  to  the  point: 
"Very  many  establishments  find  it  impossible,  because  of 
insufficient  demand  for  their  products  or  for  other  reasons,  to 
operate  continuously.  The  employees  by  striking  may  so 
reduce  the  product  for  the  time  being  that  during  the  remain- 
der of  the  year  the  establishments  will  be  active,  and  idleness 
which  might  otherwise  have  occurred  for  other  reasons  will 
be  avoided.  So  far  as  this  is  true,  it  might  often  happen 
that,  even  though  the  workingmen  gain  no  direct  improve- 
ment in  their  conditions  as  the  result  of  the  strike,  they 
have  really  lost  little  or  nothing  by  it.  For  a  similar  reason 
employers  may  even  lose  little  through  the  closing  of  their 
establishments.  This  is  the  more  likely  to  be  the  case  because, 
after  the  reduction  of  output  on  account  of  a  strike,  work 
may  often  be  rushed  with  greater  energy."1 

New  Aspects  of  Strikes.  The  growth  of  large-scale  industry, 
of  trusts,  and  of  employers'  associations  which  are  firmly 
knit  together,  affect  the  efficacy  of  the  strike  as  a  weapon  of 
organized  labor.  In  the  days  when  competitors  were  many, 
strikes  were  often  terminated  because  the  employer  feared 
that  some  of  his  business  would  be  permanently  absorbed  by 
his  competitors  and  that  his  business  would  suffer  not  only 
during  the  strike,  but  after  its  termination.  In  many  of  the 
leading  industries,  centralization  has  proceeded  so  far  that  this 
fear  is  largely  removed.  The  strike,  producing  a  scarcity  of 
supply,  may  even  tend  to  augment  instead  of  to  diminish 
profits,  —  prices  will  go  up  and  perhaps  wages  may  be  forced 
down.  If  profits  are  endangered,  some  concessions  can  be 
given  the  workmen  and  prices  can  be  raised.  A  single  com- 
peting firm  cannot  accomplish  this  feat,  but  the  big  combin- 
tion  can  and  frequently  does.  Statistics  indicate  that  higher 
average  wages  are  paid  by  large  corporations  than  by  smaller 
firms.  The  ability  to  boost  prices  in  case  of  wage  advances 

1  Vol.  19:  874-875. 


166    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

may  partially  account  for  the  prevalence  of  the  higher  wage 
rates  in  industries  controlled  by  large  establishments.  The 
trust  or  the  establishment  which  is  not  harassed  by  strong 
competitors  may  face,  therefore,  a  strike  with  a  very  different 
attitude  from  that  of  a  small  firm  competing  with  many  others, 
(i)  It  may  prolong  the  struggle  with  little  fear  from  competi- 
tors; and  raise  the  price  of  the  stock  of  goods  on  hand,  or  book 
orders  for  future  delivery.  (2)  Or  it  may  grant  higher  wages, 
and  make  the  concession  an  excellent  excuse  for  permanently 
raising  the  price  of  its  products.  The  advent  of  the  trust  and 
the  growth  of  large  employers'  associations  may  so  reduce  the 
importance  of  the  strike  as  a  weapon  of  labor  organization 
that  some  other  instrument  will  be  utilized.  Undoubtedly 
the  time  has  not  yet  arrived  when  labor  can  with  safety 
give  up  the  strike  unless  the  employer  also  relinquishes  the 
right  of  arbitrary  discharge;  but  there  is  reason  to  believe,  as 
will  be  indicated  in  another  chapter,  that  political  activity  on 
the  part  of  labor  is  to  be  of  increasing  importance  in  the  future. 
In  the  case  of  public  employment  in  a  country  where  manhood 
suffrage  is  granted,  a  strike  among  the  organized  male  em- 
ployees is  unnecessary,  unless,  of  course,  the  demands  of  the 
majority  are  smothered  by  corruption  or  improper  political 
manipulation.  That  the  organization  of  public  employees  is 
beneficial  to  the  workers  has  been  demonstrated  by  the  Post- 
Office  Clerks'  Association;  and,  if  their  demands  are  reason- 
able, the  mass  of  the  laboring  people  may  be  expected  to 
support  the  public  employees  with  their  votes.  In  public 
employment,  the  pressure  of  competition  is  absent,  and  the 
economic  forces  which  cause  the  private  employer  to  resist  a' 
grant  of  increased  wages  or  of  a  shorter  working  day  are  not 
active.  Strikes  occasionally  occur  in  public  employment.  In 
1903  the  government  railways  of  Victoria  were  tied  up  on 
account  of  a  strike;  and  in  1909  a  strike  was  ordered  by  the 
employees  of  the  French  postal  service. 


COERCIVE    METHODS  167 

The  strikes  occurring  before  the  Civil  War  and  even  before 
the  last  decade  or  two  were  spontaneous  outbursts  and  were 
conducted  in  an  unsystematic  manner.  During  the  Civil  War 
few,  if  any,  sympathetic  strikes  occurred;  and  the  employees 
in  each  shop  usually  resumed  work  when  a  satisfactory 
agreement  was  concluded  with  their  employer  irrespective 
of  the  situation  in  other  shops.  In  recent  years  the 
strike  has  been  "  commercialized  ";  it  is  now  conducted  in  a 
systematic  manner.  Preparation  is  made  for  it  in  advance. 
Money  is  accumulated  in  the  treasuries  of  unions  and  of 
employers'  associations  for  strike  purposes.  Picketing  and 
boycotting  are  systematically  carried  out  by  the  strikers; 
the  employers  have  their  army  of  strike  breakers  and  spies. 
The  strike  of  the  first  decade  of  the  twentieth  century  is  as 
different  from  that  of  1835  as  modern  military  tactics  differ 
from  tribal  warfare.  "The  serious  development  of  the 
century  is  the  systematization  of  the  boycott  and  the  black 
list,  the  constant  and  fairly  successful  effort  of  trade  unions 
and  employers'  associations  to  improve  and  perfect  their 
respective  weapons  of  coercion,  to  give  them  a  legal  status 
and  transform  them  —  as  the  relatively  innocuous  pool  was 
transformed  into  the  more  menacing  holding  corporation  — 
into  lawful  instruments  which  are  doubly  oppressive,  because 
doubly  efficient,  by  reason  of  their  very  validity.  Both  sides 
are  incessantly  planning  to  perfect  and  legalize  coercion  and 
monopoly. " l 

The  Boycott.  The  boycott  may  be  divided  into  three  classes: 
(the  simple  .  boycott,  the  compound  boycott,  and  the  unfair 
Jjst...  j  In  the  simple  boycott  only  the~persons  directly  interested 
are  involved.  The  members  of  a  union  may  refuse  to  buy 
an  article  produced  by  a  firm  declared  to  be  "unfair"  to  union 
labor.  The  compound  or  the  secondary  boycott  involves  third 

1  Adams,  Publications  of  the  American  Economic  Association,  Feb.,  1906, 
p.  192. 


i68    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

parties  who  are  not  directly  interested  in  the  dispute.  The 
term  boycott  usually  refers  to  the  compound  boycott.  If  the 
members  of  the  union  mentioned  above  refuse  to  patronize 
a  merchant  who  handles  along  with  other  merchandise  the 
product  of  the  boycotted  manufacturer,  the  boycott  is  said 
to  be  compound.  Again,  if  the  members  of  the  union  persuade 
or  coerce  others  into  refusing  to  buy  the  product  of  the  boy- 
cotted manufacturer  or  of  the  merchant  who  sells  the  former's 
goods,  the  boycott  is  compound.  The  Court  of  Appeals  of  the 
District  of  Columbia  denned  the  boycott  as  "a  combination  to 
harm  one  person  by  coercing  others  to  harm  him. "  The  com- 
pound boycott  may  become  one  of  the  most  cruel  and  inde- 
fensible weapons  of  organized  labor.  Some  years  ago  a  street 
car  strike  occurred  in  one  of  our  industrial  cities.  Women 
who  had  ridden  on  street  cars  manned  by  non-union  crews 
found  it  difficult  to  buy  groceries  and  medicines  in  the  section 
of  the  city  in  which  they  resided.  Store-keepers  were  warned 
by  watchful  pickets  not  to  sell  to  them  under  the  penalty  of 
a  boycott. 

(The  success  of  a  boycott  depends  upon  the  solidarity  oj 
organized  labor  and  upon  the  ability  to  spread  the  knowledge 
of  the  boycott  far  and  wide.)  The  boycott  succeeds  best  when 
it  is  directed  against  articles  of  wide  use  among  the  masses  of 
the  people,  —  tobacco,  beer,  baked  goods,  the  cheaper  kinds  of 
clothing.  "  In  the  brewing  industry  the  boycott  is  an  especially 
good  weapon  because  the  male  workers,  who  are  the  best  or- 
ganized, have  the  decision  in  the  matter  of  purchasing. "  The 
Brewery  Workers  have  used  this  weapon  effectively  in  several 
bitterly  contested  labor  disputes.  The  boycott  in  their  hands 
was  such  a  powerful  weapon  that  it  reacted  so  as  to  increase  the 
membership  of  the  brewery  workers'  union.  Employers  have 
in  some  cases  urged  the  "  unionization"  of  their  plants  in  order 
to  avoid  the  effect  of  the  boycott.  As  a  consequence  of  this 
unusual  situation  the  solidarity  of  the  brewery  workers  is  not 


COERCIVE    METHODS  169 

as  great  as  it  would  be  if  the  men  had  joined  because  they 
felt  the  necessity  of  unionization. ' 

The  unfair  list  is  usually  a  list  of  manufacturers  and  deal- 
ers who  are  considered  to  be  unfair  to  organized  labor.  The 
list  is  published  in  various  labor  papers.  The  intent  is  to 
warn  the  readers  against  purchasing  the  goods  produced  or 
sold  by  the  firms  included  in  the  list.  A  fair  list  is  the  reverse 
of  the  unfair  list.  The  fair  list  is  not  legally  recognized  as  a 
form  of  the  boycott. 

The  Attitude  of  the  Courts  Toward  Strikes  and  Boycotts. 
The  rights  of  wage  earners  to  collectively  quit  work,  to  picket 
the  establishment  of  their  employer,  and  to  boycott  the  pro- 
ducts of  his  establishment  encounter  two  important  obstacles 
in  the  courts  :((i)  Such  acts  may  be  declared  to  constitute 
a  conspiracy-omder _the :_ common  law  or  an  interference  with 
private  property  rights;  or  (2)  they  may  be  declared  to 
constitute  interference- with  interstate  commerce  and  to  be 

-  _ -v 

illegal  under  statute  lawy  Perhaps  the  most  commonly 
accepted  definition  of  a  conspiracy  at  common  law  is  that 
/^'a  conspiracy  must  be  a  combination  of  two  or  more  persons, 
/  by  some  concerted  action,  to  accomplish  some  criminal  or 
unlawful  purpose,  or  to  accomplish  some  purpose  not  in 
itself  criminal  or  unlawful,  by  criminal  or  unlawful  means." 
Originally  the  strike  was  considered  to  be  a  conspiracy  by  the 
English  courts,  and  certain  early  decisions  of  American 
courts  adhered  to  this  doctrine  of  the  common  law.  This 
attitude  was  finally  abandoned  in  both  countries.  Several 
states  have  by  statute  modified  the  common  law  doctrine  of 
conspiracy  in  so  far  as  it  concerns  labor  organizations.  A 
combination  to  raise  wages  was  taken  out  of  the  category  of 
conspiracies  by  the  courts;  but  a  combination  tQ_raise  prices 
still  remains  in  that  category.  The  general  rule  under  the 

1  Schluter,  History  of  the  Brewing  Industry  and  the  Brewery  Workers'  Organiza- 
tion, pp.  275-276. 


I  yo    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

common  law  is,  briefly  stated,  that  strikes  are  lawful  if  the 
purpose  is  primarily  to  improve  the  working  conditions.  (  If 
the  primary  purpose  is  to  injure  the  employer,  that  is,  if  the 
intent  is  malicious,  the  strike  is  illegal.  J  All  strikes  may 
cause  the  business  of  the  employer  to  be  injured,  but  if  the 
injury  is  a  secondary. or  incidental  result  of  the  strike  it  is 
generally  held  to  be  a  lawful  exercise  of  the  rights  of  a  combi- 
nation of  wage  earners.  The  determination  of  the  intent  is 
often  extremely  difficult.  (The  sympathetic  strike  is  prob- 
ably unlawful  .j  The  courts  are  not  easily  convinced  that  the 
interest  of  working  men  in  one  establishment  in  the  affairs  of 
those  in  another  establishment  is  sufficiently  direct  and  im- 
mediate to  warrant  an  additional  strike  which  interferes  with 
business  and  adversely  affects  the  welfare  of  the  community. 
(As  a  rule,  a  strike  to  cause  the  discharge  or  to  prevent  the 
employment  of  non-union  men  is  held  to  be  unlawful. )  A 
New  York  decision  is  to  the  effect  that  a  combination  of 
workingmen  to  prevent  certain  objectionable  persons  from 
working  in  a  given  district  is  a  criminal  conspiracy.  The 
Nevada  law  exempts  the  peaceabte  efforts  of  labor  organiza- 
tions to  improve  the  conditions  of  employment  from  the 
category  of  conspiracy;  but  a  court  decision  declares  that 
this  exemption  does  not  cover  attempts  to  prevent  the  em- 
ployment of  non-union  men  when  no  question  of  wages  is 
involved.  An  Illinois  decision  given  in  1900  declared  that 
injunctions  will  be  granted  in  case  of  threatened  strikes  for 
the  purpose  of  securing  the  discharge  or  to  prevent  the  em- 
ployment.of  non-union  men.  The  decision  of  Judge  Goff  in 
the  New  York  cloakmakers'  strike  in  1910  enjoined  peaceful 
picketing  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  a  closed  shop.  A 
Massachusetts  decision  "laid  down  the  principle  that  no 
strike  was  justifiable  which  did  not  originate  within  the  shop 
for  grievances  found  there."  l 

1  The  Survey,  Sept.  17,  1910,  p.  85. 


COERCIVE    METHODS  171 

Certain  qualifications  in  regard  to  the  attitude  of  the  courts 
must  be  noted.  These  qualifications  appear  to  be  of  increas- 
ing importance,  and  are  due  to  the  passage  of  statutes  or  to 
the  extension  by  court  decisions  of  the  police  power  of  the 
state.  (It  has  been  held  that  quitting  work  jinder  Certain 

peculiar  circumstances  is  unlawful.     In  such  cases  unusual 

— — i 

danger  to  life  and  property  are  involvedy  Under  the  statute 
law  of  New  York,  a  person  or  combination  of  persons,  wilfully 
quitting  work  while  under  contract  to  continue,  is  guilty  of  a 
misdemeanor  provided  the  refusal  to  keep  the  contract  en- 
dangers life  or  property.  In  some  Southern  states,  for  ex- 
ample Mississippi,  it  is  a  criminal  offense  for  a  laborer  or 
renter  under  contract  to  perform  certain"services,  and  to  whom 
money  or  supplies  have  been  furnished,  to  break  his  contract 
unless  all  sums  advanced  are  returned.  Such  an  act  is  held 
to  be  prima  fade  evidence  of  intent  to  defraud,  and  may  be 
punished  by  fine  or  imprisonment,  or  both.  As  a  rule,  how- 
ever, employees  violating  a  labor  contract  are  subject  only 
to  civil  action  for  damages.  In  Great  Britain  a  person,  or  a 
combination  of  persons,  quitting  work  while  under  contract  to 
continue,  may  be  punished  if  such  act  exposes  persons  or 
property  to  the  risk  of  serious  injury.  l  There  is  reason  to 
believe  that  strikes  on  the  part  of  railway  employees,  of  suffi- 
cient magnitude  to  tie  up  an  important  system,  to  obstruct 
interstate  commerce,  or  to  interfere  with  the  United  States 
mail,  and  to  endanger  the  welfare  of  many  people  and  various 
communities,  are  unlawful  under  the  United  States  statutes 
relating  to  interstate  commerce  and  the  mail  service,  and 
under  the  Sherman  Anti-Trust  Act.2  It  is  not  lawful  for  a 
railway  employee  to  abandon  his  engine  while  en  route  to  its 

1  Bolen,  Getting  a  Living,  p.  708,  foot-note. 

2  Report  of  Industrial  Commission,  Vol.  17:  cxx-cxxi;  54  Fed.  Rep.,  p.  803;  62 
Fed.  Rep.,  pp.  803,  821.     For  different  interpretation,  see  Adams  and  Surnner, 
Labor   Problems,   p.    195.     See   Johnson,   American    Railway    Transportation, 
pp.  396-401  (2d  edition). 


172    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

regular  destination.  Employees  while  remaining  in  the  ser- 
vice are  required  to  perform  their  regular  services.  A  refusal, 
for  example,  to  haul  the  cars  of  another  company  in  order  to 
give  assistance  to  strikers  is  unlawful.  The  railway  and 
public  service  corporations  of  various  sorts  are  peculiar  indus- 
tries. The  welfare  of  the  general  public  is  seriously  affected 
by  any  long-continued  interruption  of  the  service.  The 
growth  of  trusts  which  control  the  necessities  of  life  is  pushing 
them  into  the  same  category.  The  attitude  of  the  public 
and  of  the  courts  toward  strikes  in  those  industries  will  be 
modified  because  of  the  far-reaching  effect  of  a  labor  dispute. 
Advocates  of  compulsory  arbitration  in  particular  industries 
are  not  lacking.  It  is  urged  that  a  group  of  employees  must 
give  up  their  right  to  strike  in  the  interests  of  the  larger 
group  —  tlie  general  public. 

Picketing  is  accomplished  by  stationing  pickets  near  the 
establishment  of  the  employer  for  the  purpose  of  persuading 
or  coercing  non-union  men  from  taking  the  places  of  the 
strikers.  Peaceful  picketing  is  lawful  under  the  common  law. 
As  a  matter  of  actual  practice  picketing  is  unlawful.  The 
courts  hold  that  picketing  almost  inevitably  involves  physi- 
cal intimidation  and  fear.  In  the  language  of  our  court, 
"there  may  be  threats,  intimidations,  molestations,  and  ob- 
structions, without  there  being  any  express  words  used  by 
which  a  man  could  show  violent  threats  toward  another  or 
any  express  intimidation."  The  courts  recognize  that 
picketing  almost  inevitably  creates  "an  atmosphere  unsuited 
for  '  scabs. ' '  At  least  two  states,  (Alabama  and  Colorado} 
have  passed  statutes  expressly  prohibiting'  picketing.  The 
English  Trades  Dispute  Act  of  1906  legalized  peaceful  picket- 
ing. 

In  the  case  of  Iron  Workers'  Union  vs.  Allis-Chambers 
Company  in  the  United  States  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals  a 
very  interesting  decision  affecting  the  right  to  picket  and  to 


COERCIVE    METHODS  173 

strike  was  handed  down.1  When  the  breaking  of  a  contract 
is  not  involved,  the  court  ruled  that  the  laborers  have  the 
right  to  persuade,  but  not  to  coerce,  other  workers.  The 
court  recognized  the  existence  of  a  struggle  between  employ- 
ers and  employees  for  shares  in  the  joint  product  of  labor  and 
capital.  After  the  strike  was  declared  the  Allis-Chambers 
Company  sent  patterns  to  other  foundries.  The  strikers 
then  induced  molders  working  for  other  firms  to  refuse  to  do 
this  work.  Such  refusal  was  held  to  be  lawful.  In  the  opin- 
ion of  the  court  the  employer  had  the  right  to  seek  the  aid  of 
other  foundrymen,  and  likewise  the  workers  had  the  reciprocal 
right  to  seek  the  aid  of  the  molders  in  order  to  prevent  the 
attainment  of  that  end.  Employers,  in  the  judgment  of  the 
court,  may  lawfully  cooperate  and  combine  to  control  the 
supply  and  conditions  of  jwork,  and  so  may  wage  earners 
combine  to  control  the  supply  and  conditions  of  labor  neces- 
sary to  do  that  work.  A  judge  in  Westchester  County,  New 
York,  issued  an  injunction  against  the  picketing  of  a  manu- 
facturing establishment  and  granted  the  plaintiff  damages 
to  the  amount  of  $3,847.  The  damages  were  assessed  against 
the  local  union  of  machinists,  and  the  officers  and  individual 
members  of  the  union.2  In  this  case,  the  judge  stated  that 
threats  or  verbal  abuse  on  the  part  of  pickets  would  render 
picketing  unlawful. 

The  legal  status  of  the  boycott  is  not  fixed  beyond  con- 
troversy. The  decisions  are  somewhat  conflicting.  Under 
the  common  law  the  legality  of  the  boycott,  like  that  of  the 
strike,  depends  upon  the  intent,  fli  the  intent  is  malicious, 
the  boycott  is  unlawful.J  About  thirty  states  have  statutes 
referring  to  the  boycott  by  name  or  by  implication.  There 
is  no  federal  law  dealing  specifically  with  boycotts;(but  boy- 
cotts have  been  declared  illegal  by  the  federal  courts  under 

1  166  Fed .  Rep.,  p.  45.     Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor.     No.  83  :  157  et  seq. 

2  New  York  Labor  Bulletin.     No.  41:  242-246,  June,  1909. 


174    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

the  Anti-Trust  Law  and  the  Interstate  Commerce  Act.)  In  the 
Danbury  Hatters'  case,  for  example,  a  labor  organization  was 
penalized  under  the  Sherman  Anti-Trust  Act  for  interfering 
with  interstate  commerce  by  means  of  a  boycott.  Frequently 
a  distinction  is  drawn  by  the  courts  between  the  primary  and 
secondary  boycott.  The  primary  boycott  is  sometimes  held 
to  be  legal  providing  coercion  is  not  used.  The  secondary 
boycott  is  usually  held  to  be  illegal.  As  this  is  the  most  fre- 
quent form,  the  word  boycott,  when  used  in  legal  decisions, 
as  a  rule,  has  reference  to  the  secondary  boycott.  A  recent 
decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  California  clearly  breaks 
away  from  the  mass  of  legal  precedents.  The  court  declared, 
as  do  labor  leaders  generally,  that  the  distinction  between 
the  primary  and  the  secondary  boycott  was  immaterial.  The 
boycott  was  declared  to  be  legal  as  long  as  the  union  used 
"fair  means"  to  induce  third  parties  to  cease  patronizing  the 
boycotted  firm.1  On  the  contrary,  an  older  Michigan  de- 
cision declared  the  boycott  to  be  a  form  of  coercion.  The 
peaceful  boycott  was  held  to  be  unlawful  and  enjoinable. 
The  presence  or  absence  of  threats  or  coercion  is  the  deter- 
mining factor.  Very  few  decisions  have  been  rendered  in  regard 
to  the  unfair  list,  (in  the  famous  Buck  Stove  and  Range 
Company  case  the  courts  of  the  District  of  Columbia  held 
the  unfair  list  to  be  unlawful.  The  officers  of  the  American 
Federation  were  ordered  to  cease  printing  the  name  of  the 
firm  in  the  "We  don't  Patronize"  column  of  their  official 
journal.]  A  Missouri  decision  stated  that  the  "boycott  cir- 
cular" is  legal.  The  California  decision,  mentioned  above, 
intimated  that  the  unfair  list  was  legal.  Alabama  has  placed 
a  law  upon  her  statue  books  declaring  the  unfair  list  illegal. 

The  legality  of  the  secondary  boycott  and  the  unfair  list 
also  hinges  upon  another  disputed  point.  May  an  act  which 
is  lawful  when  performed  by  one  individual,  become  unlaw- 

1  103  Pacific  Rep.,  p.  324.    Bulletin  of  Bureau  of  Labor.     No.  86  :  334  el  seq. 


COERCIVE    METHODS  175 

ful  when  performed  by  a  group  of  persons  acting  in  a  con- 
certed manner?  The  English  Trades'  Dispute  Act  amended 
the  law  of  conspiracy  in  that  country  so  that  no  action  will 
stand  against  a  combination  performing  acts  which  are  legal 
if  performed  by  an  individual.  Chief  Justice  Shepard  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  District  of  Columbia  in  a  dissenting 
opinion  in  the  Buck  Stove  and  Range  Company  case  held 
that  the  provisions  of  this  act  were  now  generally  accepted 
as  the  common  law  doctrine  in  this  country.  In  June,  1908, 
the  Supreme  Court  of  Montana  rendered  the  following  opin- 
ion. "But  there  can  be  found  running  through  our  legal 
literature  many  remarkable  statements  that  an  act  perfectly 
lawful  when  done  by  one  person  becomes,  by  some  sort  of 
legerdemain,  criminal  when  done  by  two  or  more  persons 
acting  in  concert,  and  this  upon  the  theory  that  concerted 
actipjiLj:rnmmts_Jo_c^njpiiacy.  But  with  this  doctrine  we 
do  not  agree."1  Other  eminent  legal  authority  may  be 
found  accepting  a  very  different  doctrine.  Justice  Holmes 
and  JusticeJHarlan  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Couri  have 
indicated  in  decisions  that  concerted  efforts  may  be  adjudged 
unlawful  although  the  same  act  performed  by  one  person 
may  be  recognized  as  lawful.2  Labor  leaders  insist  that  mere 
numbers  do  not  affect  the  quality  of  an  act.  If  it  is  lawful 
for  one  man  to  withold  his  patronage  from  a  dealer  and  to 
advise  his  friends  to  do  likewise,  they  urge  that  a  group  of 
men  have  the  same  rights.  The  opposing  legal  opinions  seem 
to  be  influenced  by  the  idea  that  the  mere  force  of  numbers 
introduces  an  element  of  menace  and  coercion  absent  in  the 
case  of  a  single  person;  and  that  an  "unwarranted  interfer- 
ence with  the  natural  course  of  trade"  may  follow.  A  reso- 
ution  adopted  in  1905  by  the  American  Federation  of  Labor 

1  Lindsay  &  Co.  vs.  Montana  Fed.  of  Labor.     See  Political  Science  Quarterly. 
Vol.  24:  86. 

2  See  Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor.  No.  74:  250-251;  also  no  Wisconsin, 
p.  189. 


176    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

furnishes  a  reasonable  basis  for  such  an  opinion.  "We 
recognize  the  fact  that  a  boycott  means  war,  and  to  success- 
fully carry  out  a  war  we  must  adopt  the  tactics  that  history 
has  shown  are  most  successful  in  war." 

The  trade  _boycott  directed  by  one  group  of  employers 
against  another  employer  or  group  of  employers  is  given  more 
favorable  consideration  by  the  courts  than  is  one  directed  by 
labor  organizations.  A  Pennsylvania  decision  was  to  the 
effect  that  employers  may  lawfully  combine  to  resist  an 
advance  in  wages  and  may  refuse  and  advise  others  to  refuse 
to  sell  to  parties  conceding  such  an  advance.  A  New  York 
court  maintained  that  the  "  refusal  to  sell  to  dealers  who  will 
not  maintain  a  uniform  price  is  not  an  actionable  boycott." 
Other  courts  have  held  the  trade  boycott  to  be  illegal.1 

The  usual  remedy  of  the  courts  in  the  case  of  a  decision 
against  the  boycott  or  the  unfair  list  is  the  injunction.  The 
use  of  the  injunction  is  a  conspicuous  factor  in  recent  legal 
proceedings  in  connection  with  labor  disputes.  In  such  cases 
an  injunction  is  a  command  by  a  court  exercising  equity  juris- 
diction that  certain  persons  refrain  from  doing  certain  specified 
acts.  A  violation  of  the  order  may  be  punished  as  contempt  of 
court  by  fine  or  imprisonment.  Trial  by  jury  is  not  allowed.^ 
The  judge  issues  the  order,  determines  whether  the  order  has 
been  disobeyed,  and  fixes  the  penalty  for  disobedience.  The 
executive  and  the  legislative  branch  have  practically  been 
stripped  of  the  power  to  inflict  punishment  upon  those  who 
disobey  their  mandates;  but  the  judicial  arm  of  government 
still  clings  to  that  right.2  (Organized  labor  demands  that 
the  extraordinary  equity  powers  of  the  courts  be  reduced  and 
that  trial  by  jury  be  allowed  in  contempt  of  court  proceed- 
ings.) The  constitution  of  Oklahoma  provides  that  every 

1  Report  of  the  Industrial  Commission.     Vol.  17:  cxix,  591. 

2  For  an  excellent  discussion  of  this  point,  see  Smith,  The  Spirit  of  American 
Government,  pp.  117-119. 


COERCIVE    METHODS  177 

person  accused  of  violating  an  injunction  out  of  the  presence 
of  the  court  shall  be  entitled  to  trial  by  jury. 
(_  The  most  famous  cases  of  the  use  of  the  injunction  in  labor 
disputes  are  the.  Debs  case  in  connection  with  the  railway 
strike  of  1894  and  the  Buck  Stove  and  Range  Company  case 
in  which  three  high  officials  of  the  American  Federation  of 
Labor  —  Samuel  Gompers,  John-Mkchell,  and  Frank  Morr 
rison  —  were  sentenced  to  imprisonment  for  disobeying  the 
orders  of  the  court.J  The  former  difficulty  originated  in  the 
works  of  the  Pullman  Car  Company  and  spread  as  a  sympa- 
thetic strike  to  nearly  all  the  railway  lines  radiating  from 
Chicago.  The  general  public  was  greatly  inconvenienced, 
interstate  commerce  was  interfered  with,  and  the  mails  were 
delayed.  Much  violence  and  destruction  of  property  ac- 
companied the  strike.  A  "blanket"  injunction  was  issued 
by  a  federal  court  enjoining  the  officers  of  the  American  Rail- 
way Union  and  "all  other  persons"  from  interfering  with  the 
transportation  of  the  mails  and  with  the  flow  of  interstate 
commerce.  Disobedience  of  this  inclusive  order  was  pun- 
ishable as  contempt  of  court.  Interference  with  the  trans- 
portation of  the  United  States  mail  is  a  crime  under  the  federal 
statutes,  but  the  accused  under  the  statute  law  would  be 
allowed  a  trial  by  jury. 

The  Buck  Stove  and  Range  Company  became  involved  in  a 
dispute  with  the  molders  employed  by  the  company.  A  strike 
followed  and  a  boycott  was  instituted  against  the  products  of 
the  company.  The  American  Federationist,  the  official  organ 
of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor,  included  the  name  of 
this  firm  in  its  "We  don't  Patronize"  list.  It  was  held 
that  the  officials  and  members  of  the  Federation  had  acted 
concertedly  against  the  company  for  the  following  purposes: 
(i)  to  bring  about  a  breach  of  the  company's  contracts 
with  others;  (2)  to  deprive  the  company  of  property  (good 
will  in  business)  without  due  process  of  law;  (3)  to  restrain 


178    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

trade  among  the  several  states;  and  (4)  to  restrain  commerce 
between  the  several  states,  (i)  and  (2)  were  held  to  consti- 
tute conspiracy  under  the  common  law;  and  (3)  and  (4)  to  be 
actionable  under  the  statute  law,  —  Sherman  Anti-Trust  Law 
and  inter-state  commerce  acts.1  A  sweeping  injunction  was 
granted  in  the  courts  of  the  District  of  Columbia  forbidding 
the  officers  and  agents  of  the  Federation  from  interfering  in 
any  way  with  the  business  of  the  company;  from  printing  and 
distributing  copies  of  The  American  Federationist  or  any 
printed  or  written  instrument  "which  shall  contain  or  in  any 
manner  refer  to  the  name  of  the  complainant,  its  business, 
or  its  product  in  the  "We  don't  Patronize"  or  the  "Unfair" 
list;  from  calling  attention  "in  writing  or  orally"  to  the 
boycott  against  the  firm.2  Three  officers  of  the  Federation 
were  declared  to  have  violated  the  injunction  and  were 
sentenced  to  imprisonment  for  terms  of  one  year,  nine  months, 
and  six  months  respectively.  This  judgment  was  reaffirmed 
by  the  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals,  although  the  terms  of  the 
injunction  were  slightly  modified.  One  judge  dissented. 
The  case  was  then  taken  to  the  United  States  Supreme  Court. 
The  sentenced  men  were  not  imprisoned  pending  the  final 
action  of  the  highest  court  of  the  land.  In  July,  1910,  the 
president  of  the  company  having  died,  it  was  announced  that 
a  settlement  of  the  differences  between  organized  labor  and 
the  company  had  been  made;  and  that  all  legal  action  on  the 
part  of  the  company  against  the  Federation  would  be  with- 
drawn. Lawyers  for  the  American  Anti-Boycott  Associa- 
tion, which  was  associated  with  the  company  in  the  suit  and 
had  "borne  the  entire  expense"  of  it,  announced  that  the  case 
would  not  be  dropped.3 

An  interesting  dissenting  opinion  of  a  circuit  court  judge 
in  Northwestern  Ohio  is  worthy  of  notice.    A  hotel  in  Toledo 

1  See  Bulletin  of  Bureau  of  Labor.     No.  80:  128. 

2  Ibid.      No.  74;  254. 

3  On  May  15,  1911,  the  Supreme  Court  set  aside  the  judgment  of  imprison- 
ment.    It  was  held  that  only  a  fine  can  be  enforced  by  the  lower  court. 


COERCIVE    METHODS  179 

became  involved  in  a  dispute  with  some  of  its  employees  who 
were  members  of  a  local  union  of  the  Hotel  and  Restaurant 
Employees,  and  was  declared  to  be  "unfair. "  Members  of 
the  union  picketed  the  hotel  and  requested  people  not  to 
patronize  its  bar  or  restaurant.  Printed  cards  were  distrib- 
uted upon  the  public  streets  calling  attention  to  the  boycott. 
A  common  pleas  court  judge  refused  to  grant  an  injunction 
restraining  members  of  the  union  from  picketing  the  hotel 
and  attempting  to  dissuade  people  from  patronizing  it.  The 
case  was  then  taken  to  a  higher  court;  and  the  Circuit  Court 
in  January,  1911,  granted  the  permanent  injunction  demanded 
by  the  hotel  proprietor.  But  one  of  the  three  judges  dis- 
sented most  emphatically  "I  want  to  say,"  declared  the 
judge  in  his  opinion,  "with  all  the  seriousness  and  emphasis 
at  my  command,  that  in  my  humble  opinion  the  reckless  use 
of  the  writ  of  injunction  is  itself  producing  an  injury  which 
may  well  be  described  as  'irreparable. '  I  refer  to  the  impair- 
ing of  the  confidence  of  the  people  generally  in  the  courts. 
We  have  certainly  reached  the  danger  line.  ...  In  my  opin- 
ion, no  court  in  Ohio  has  the  power  to  restrain,  by  injunction, 

the  liberty  of  speech  or  of  the  press It  is  a  fact  that 

practically  all  of  the  encroachments  upon  the  right  of  free 
speech  and  a  free  press,  up  to  date,  have  been  made  by  the 
courts  themselves  —  the  sworn  defenders  of  the  constitution. " 
The  injunction  is  extremely  important  because  it  involves 
(i)  a  demajjjf-the^right  to  trial  by  jury  in  case  the  injunction 
is^disobey.ed.  The  frequent  resort  to  the  injunction  gives 
ground  for  the  suspicion  that  the  injunction  is  often  merely  a 
subterfuge  for  avoiding  a  jury  trial.  (2)  It  led  in  the  Buck 
Stove  and  Range  Company  case  to  an  apparehTdenial  of  the 
right  to  print  certain  facts,  thus  interfering  with  the  freedom 
of  the  press  guaranteed  by  the  first  amendment  to  the  federal 
constitution.  (3)  The  constitutional  right  to  freedom  of 
speech  is  also  apparently  denied  in  certain  cases.  The  court's 


i8o    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

answer  to  this  plea  that  the  constitutional  guarantee  of  free- 
dom of  press  and  speech  are  impaired  is  as  follows:  "What- 
ever in  writing,  print,  or  speech  violates  a  legal  right  of  another 
is  unlawful,"  ....  consequently,  "it  ought  to  be  enjoined 
in  advance,  if"  ....  it  "so  invades  rights  of  property  as 
that  the  law  affords  no  remedy  adequate  to  compensate  for 
the  results,"  or  if  a  good  name  may  be  "rescued  from  pre- 
conceived despoilment."  l  (4)  In  the  fourth  place,  it  is 
generally  j:onceded  that  a  business  may  be  lawfully  injured 
by  competition,  or  by  the  exposure  of  facts  relating  to  the 
conduct  of  the  enterprise.  It  is  not,  however,  beyond  the 
bounds  of  reason  to  inquire:  Do  the  decisions  in  the  boy- 
cott cases,  known  as  the  Buck  Stove  and  Range  case  and  the 
Danbury  Hatters'  case  indicate  that  the  exposure  of  facts 
as  to  a  business  may  be  adjudged  unlawful?  Has  a  person  or 
a  combination  of  persons  the  lawful  right  to  make  public  the 
fact  that  conditions  in  a  factory  or  a  store  are  insanitary? 
The  business  will  be  injured  and  the  flow  of  interstate  com- 
merce may  be  modified.  If  a  true  statement  is  sent  broad- 
cast that  a  grocer  doing  an  interstate  business  keeps  whisky 
for  sale  in  his  basement  or  that  he  mixes  sand  with  the  sugar 
which  he  offers  for  sale,  could  the  grocer  obtain  an  injunction 
restraining  the  circulation  of  such  statements?  Is  the  right 
to  do  business  a  property  right?  Labor  leaders  are  not  alone 
in  their  attitude  of  opposition  to  the  gradual  increase  in  the 
power  of  the  courts  through  the  use  of  the  injunction.  The 
matter  is  worthy  of  very  careful  consideration  by  all  friends 
of  democracy. 

The  Blacklist.  An  association  of  employers  may  prepare 
and  circulate  a  list  of  employees  who  have  gone  on  a  strike  or 
who  have  been  discharged  because  of  activity  in  labor  organ- 
izations. Men  whose  names  appear  on  such  a  list  will  not 
be  employed  by  members  of  the  association.  This  practice 

1  Bulletin  of  Bureau  of  Labor.  No.  80:  137. 


COERCIVE    METHODS  181 

is  known  as  blacklisting.  The  blacklist  is  the  employers' 
boycott  of  the  worker's  commodity,  —  labor.  A  clearance 
j:ardj§,  a  written  statement  given  to  employees  at  the  time 
they  leave  a  given  establishment.  This  card  may  also  be 
used  as  a  means  of  blacklisting.  Some  employers'  associa- 
tions maintain  a  sort  of  '  employment  bureau  "  in  which  are 
registered  the  names  of  the  employees  of  the  various  members 
of  the  association,  together  with  a  more  or  less  complete 
history  of  the  working  career  of  each  employee.  When  new 
employees  are  desired  the  records  of  the  bureau  are  studied. 
This  practice  is  "  whitelisting."  The  whitelist  is  a  "  negative 
boycott."  It  corresponds  in  a  measure  to  the  fair  list  of 
the  unions.  In  practice,  whitelisting  and  blacklisting  are 
reduced  to  a  common  denominator. 

/About  thirty  states  in  the  United  States  have  attempted  to 
prevent  blacklisting  by  statutory  provisions. )  The  enforce- 
ment of  these  statutes  is  extremely  difficultr^it  is  difficult  to 
gather  definite  information  as  to  the  circulation  of  such  lists; 
and  so  many  plausible  reasons  may  be  given  for  not  employing 
a  workman  who  is  actually  blacklisted.  ''  Though  there  are 
more  statutes  directly  aimed  at  blacklisting  than  at  boycotting 
the  courts  do  not  recognize  the  illegality  of  blacklisting  as 
clearly."  The  courts  have  held  railway  clearance  cards  to  be 
lawful  instruments;  but  the  legality  of  the  whitelist  is  not  de- 
termined.1 A  New  York  court  has  ruled  that  a  trade  black- 
list is  not  unlawful.  A  United  States  statute  forbidding  an 
employer  engaged  in  interstate  commerce  to  discharge  an  em- 
ployee, because  of  membership  in  a  union,  was  declared  uncon- 
stitutional. A  federal  circuit  court  ruled  that  an  employer 
has  a  right  to  keep  a  book  containing  the  names  of  employees 
discharged  because  of  membership  in  a  union,  and  that  he 
may  lawfully  invite  inspection  of  the  book  by  other  employers.2 

1Huebner,  Blacklisting,  p.  19. 

2 Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor.      No.  50:  202-204. 


1 82     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

An  Oklahoma  statute  provides  that  upon  request  of  a  dis- 
charged employee,  the  manager  of  any  public  service  corpora- 
tion, or  contractor  working  for  such  corporation,  is  required 
to  issue  a  letter  giving  a  true  statement  of  the  cause  of  dis- 
charge, etc.  Very  precise  regulations  are  given  as  to  the 
paper  used,  the  place  of  signature,  and  the  use  of  any  charac- 
ters which  might  convey  secret  intelligence.  In  Georgia,  an 
act  similar  to  the  Oklahoma  law  was  declared  unconstitu- 
tional; while  in  Texas  such  legislation  has  been  held  to  be 
valid.  The  English  courts  follow,  with  slight  modifications, 
the  common  law  as  to  conspiracies  when  dealing  with  the 
blacklist.  Its  legality  may  be  said  to  depend  upon  the  intent. 
The  Union  Label.  The  union  label  is  a  mark  adopted  by  a 
labor  organization  and  placed  upon  the  products  made  by 
its  members.  Its  use  furnishes  an  easy  method  of  discrim- 
inating between  union-made  goods  and  the  products  of  non- 
union, child,  or  convict  labor.  Through  the  use  of  the  union 
label  the  wage  earners  are  organized  as  consumers  as  well  as 
producers.  The  wise  use  of  the  consuming  power  by  the 
families  of  union  men  will  hasten  the  growth  and  increase  the 
efficiency  of  organized  labor.  The  workingmen  form  a  very 
important  class  of  consumers.  By  directing  their  demands 
into  proper  channels,  conditions  of  labor  may  be  greatly 
ameliorated.  The  demand  for  the  product  of  the  workers  in 
a  trade  depends  upon  the  wages  and  conditions  in  other  trades. 
If  the  workers  in  one  trade  persist  in  purchasing  goods  which 
are  produced  under  sweated  or  "unfair"  conditions,  the  con- 
suming power  of  the  workers  in  the  other  trades  is  reduced. 
As  a  result,  the  demand  for  the  products  of  the  workers  in  the 
first  trade  is  also  reduced,  and  they  are  indirectly,  but  none 
the  less  surely,  made  to  feel  the  results  of  their  own  short- 
sighted action.  It  has  often  been  stated  that  "half  of  the 
battle  of  union  labor  would  be  won  if  only  the  union  man 
and  his  wife  would  in  every  instance  insist  on  the  label  on 


COERCIVE    METHODS  183 

everything  they  purchase."  Another  argument  is  used  for  the 
purpose  of  reaching  a  wider  circle  of  consumers.  It  is  main- 
tained that  union-made  goods  are  produced  under  sanitary 
conditions  and  will  not  carry  infectious  diseases. 

Labor  organizations  have  not  as  yet  effectively  utilized 
their  latent  power  in  this  connection.  The  members  of  labor 
organizations  could  do  much  toward  preventing  scamping  and 
adulteration.  The  powerful  unions  in  the  building  trade 
might  do  much  toward  preventing  violations  of  the  building 
laws  in  cities.  The  wage  earners  live  in  many  buildings  which 
are  improperly  constructed;  and  often  pay  the  penalty  for 
faulty  construction.  The  producer  —  the  workman  —  by 
neglecting  to  oppose  bad  work  injures  his  brother  unionist 
who  consumes  the  product.  The  consumer  of  almost  any 
product  is  obliged  to  grope  in  the  dark  in  regard  to  the  quality 
of  his  purchases.  His  dependence  is  upon  the  word  or  the 
reputation  of  the  maker  or  the  seller  is  often  almost 
complete.  If  the  union  label  always  stood  for  good  work- 
manship, quality  as  represented,  and  obedience  to  legal  re- 
quirements; it  would  come  to  the  consumer  as  a  welcome  ray 
of  light  through  the  darkness  of  uncertainty  and  misrepre- 
sentation. It  would  not  be  impossible  to  make  the  union 
label, "organized  labor's  most  powerful  weapon."  Organized 
labor  might  furnish  an  effective  check  upon  certain  varieties 
of  graft,  as,  for  example,  in  connection  with  public  or  private 
buildings.  Graft  is  primarily  a  disease  of  the  commercial 
world,  the  world  of  buying  and  selling,  as  distinct  from  the 
world  of  production. 

(The  union  label  originated  in  the  United  States;  and  its  use 
is  almost  entirely  confined  to  this  country.  It  was  first  used 
by  the  cigar  makers  in  1874.,)  The  opposition  to  cheap  labor 
seems  to  have  been  a  factor  in  causing  its  adoption.  Many 
trades  now  use  the  label.  In  the  "union  label  gallery"  of  a 
labor  paper  are  noted  the  facsimiles  of  thirty-nine  labels. 


1 84    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

Among  this  number  are  the  labels  of  the  United  Hatters,  the 
Journeymen  Horseshoers,  the  Glove  Workers,  the  Bread 
Bakers,  Barbers,  and  the  Wood  Workers.  Labor  leaders  are 
making  a  determined  campaign  of  education  in  regard  to  the 
use  of  the  label.  In  1904  the  American  Federation  of  Labor 
offered  cash  prizes  for  the  best  essays  on  the  history  and  use 
of  the  label.  At  the  Toronto  meeting  of  the  Federation  held 
in  1909,  resolutions  were  adopted  recommending  that  all 
affiliated  unions  introduce  into  their  initiatory,  opening,  and 
closing  ceremonies,  some  reference  to  the  desirability  of 
purchasing  union  products  bearing  the  union  label.  A  trade- 
union  fair  was  held  in  Chicago  to  educate  the  people  in  regard 
to  the  union  label.  All  kinds  of  labels  were  displayed.  Each 
trade  had  a  booth  and  demonstrations  were  given  of  the 
workmanship  for  which  each  label  stood.  In  1907  the  union 
label  was  protected  under  the  trade-mark  law  in  every  state 
except  Mississippi,  Nevada,  North  Dakota,  and  North  and 
South  Carolina.  A  few  years  ago  the  Federal  High  Court  of 
Australia  declared  a  law  giving  the  union  label  protection  as 
a  trade-mark,  to  be  null  and  void.  Nevada  and  Montana  re- 
quire that  the  union  label  shall  be  used  on  all  public  printing. 
The  union-label  is  legally  not  a  boycott,  and  its  use  is  lawful. 
Typical  Strikes.  In  the  late  Carroll  D.  Wright's  book 
entitled,  Industrial  Evolution  of  the  United  States,  and  pub- 
lished in  1895,  the  "historic  strikes"  considered  are,  with  two 
exceptions,  directly  connected  with  the  railways  of  the  nation. 
The  two  exceptions  are  the  telegraphers'  strike  of  1883  and  the 
Homestead  strike  in  1892.  The  three  most  important  strikes 
before  the  opening  of  the  present  century  were  the  railway 
strike  of  1877,  the  Homestead  strike,  and  the  railway  strike 
of  1894.  Each  of  these  strikes  was  marked  by  dangerous 
rioting  and  by  the  destruction  of  property.  State  militia 
were  used  in  each  case,  and  United  States  troops  in  the  strike 
of  1894.  The  strike  of  1877  made  the  people  of  the  United 


COERCIVE    METHODS  185 

States  realize  for  the  first  time  that  strikes  and  other  disputes 
between  labor  and  the  newly-formed  aggregations  of  capital 
presented  problems  of  national  importance.  In  the  strike  of 
1894  the  right  of  the  federal  government  acting  under  the 
anti-trust,  the  interstate  commerce,  and  the  postal  laws  to 
intervene  in  the  case  of  strikes  and  boycotts,  was  for  the  first 
time  clearly  asserted. 

In  the  anthracite  coal  strike  of  1902,  a  well  disciplined 
union,  composed  of  men  of  various  nationalities  and  degrees  of 
skill  was  so  controlled  that  the  amount  of  violence  was  com- 
paratively small.  The  stoppage  of  the  source  of  supply  of  a 
necessity  in  the  homes  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  people 
made  this  local  strike  of  personal  importance  to  the  citizens  of 
the  nation.  President  Roosevelt  used  extra-legal  authority 
to  bring  about  a  settlement  in  order  that  the  coal  bins  might 
be  filled.  In  the  State  of  New  York,  the  democratic  party 
went  on  record  through  their  party  platform  as  favoring 
government  ownership  of  coal  mines.  The  mining  troubles  of 
Colorado,  culminating  in  the  Cripple  Creek  strike  of  1903- 
1904,  occurred  in  a  community  not  far  removed  from  frontier 
conditions,  yet  industrially  organized  ahead  of  its  time.  The 
admixture  of  foreign  elements  in  the  Western  Federation  of 
Miners  was  not  important,  but  class  lines  were  strictly  drawn. 
Mining  was  the  basic  industry;  when  "mining  ceased,  busi- 
ness ceased."  The  entire  community  was  forced  to  align 
itself  on  one  side  or  the  other.  In  the  mining  district  of 
Colorado,  a  bitter  class  struggle  —  true  industrial  warfare  — 
took  place.  Strong  class-conscious  labor  unions  faced  as 
strongly  class-conscious  employers'  associations;  and  the  cit- 
izens and  the  local  and  state  governments  were  forced  into 
the  struggle.  "There  do  not  lack  of  indications  of  a  general 
current  sweeping  the  entire  nation  to  such  a  final  issue.  .  .  . 
It  may  well  be  that  in  the  throes  of  the  Cripple  Creek  conflict 
lie  auguries  of  the  future,  lessons  for  both  parties  to  the 


1 86    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

strife,  and  for  the  'powers  that  be'  in  state,  in  county,  and 
in  town."1 

The  Great  Lakes  Dispute  between  the  various  seaman's 
unions  on  the  Great  Lakes  and  the  Lake  Carriers'  Association 
caused  a  strike  which  began  in  1909  and  continued  through 
1910.  The  passenger  lines  were  not  involved  in  the  dispute. 
The  conflict  hinged  on  the  open  shop  principle.  The  organ- 
ized employers  were  determined  to  enforce  the  open  shop; 
they  refused  to  confer  with  the  representatives  of  organized 
labor.  The  efforts  of  the  National  Civic  Federation  and  of 
several  state  boards  of  arbitration  were  unavailing.  In  order 
to  effectively  carry  out  the  open  shop  policy  the  employers 
proposed  a  "welfare  plan."  Each  seaman  upon  payment  of 
fee  of  one  dollar,  receives  a  discharge  book.  At  the  beginning 
of  the  season,  the  seaman  must  deposit  this  book  with  the 
captain  of  the  vessel.  At  the  end  of  the  season,  it  is  returned 
to  him  for  use  next  season  with  an  entry  "fair"  or  "good," 
unless  the  captain  is  dissatisfied  with  the  work  of  the  seaman. 
In  the  latter  case,  the  book  is  returned  to  the  Lake  Carriers' 
Association.  This  system,  called  in  derision  the  "hell-fare" 
plan,  is  evidently  well  calculated  to  allow  the  employers  of 
seamen  to  weed  out  all  union  men  and  to  increase  the  sub- 
serviency of  their  employees.  It  is  in  reality  a  gigantic  black 
list,  although  in  theory  it  is  a  white  list.  The  President  of  the 
Lake  Carriers'  Association  has  stated,  however,  that  the  plan 
was  devised  "with  the  firm  belief  and  conviction  that  it  was 
in  the  interest  and  for  the  benefit  of  the  men  employed  to  join 
it.  ...  We  have  men  employed  who  are  not  members." 
The  Great  Lakes  struggle  is  symptomatic  of  the  growing 
antagonism  between  certain  employers'  associations  and  labor 
unions;  the  fundamental  aim  of  the  Lake  Carriers'  Association 
is  to  stamp  out  unionism  among  the  employees  of  its  members. 

1  Rastall,  "The  History  of  the  Cripple  Creek  Strike,"  Bulletin  of  the 
University  of  Wisconsin.  1908. 


COERCIVE    METHODS  187 

The  McKees  Rocks  strike  in  the  Pressed  Steel  Car  Works 
was  a  strike  possessing  very  different  characteristics  than 
any  preceding  important  American  labor  dispute.  The  com- 
pany's force  consisted  of  about  1,200  skilled  mechanics  and 
about  3,500  semi-skilled  and  unskilled  workers,  of  whom  the 
majority  were  immigrants  from  various  European  countries. 
The  treatment  accorded  these  workers  by  the  company  was 
little  short  of  inhuman;  at  last  the  unorganized  and  undis- 
ciplined horde  suddenly  struck.  One  investigator  stated  that 
"it  was  simply  a  united  claim  on  the  part  of  unskilled, ignorant 
'Hunkies'  for  justice,  and  the  Americans  stood  with  them." 
After  the  strike  began,  the  men  were  organized,  a  fair  degree 
of  order  was  maintained,  and  the  task  of  financing  the  strike 
performed  in  an  efficient  manner.  A  spirit  of  solidarity  among 
the  wage  earners  was  manifested  which  indicates  that  indus- 
trial unionism  is  an  aggressive  and  efficient  form  of  labor 
organization.  The  company,  at  first  defiant,  finally  yielded. 
The  strikers  were  taken  back,  and  some  concessions  were 
granted.  The  "first  great  woman's  strike"  occurred  in  New 
York  City  in  the  winter  of_  IJDJO^-^IO,  among  the  shirt-waist 
makers.  This  was  a  strike  of  women  in  an  occupation  within 
what  has  been  traditionally  called  "woman's  sphere";  and  it 
was  a  strike  involving  women  of  several  different  nationali- 
ties. Women  were  fined  and  sent  to  the  workhouse  by  city 
judges  for  picketing.  The  strikers  published  and  circulated 
rules  in  regard  to  lawful  picketing.  Women  pickets  were 
attacked  by  "prostitutes  paid  high  for  stirring  up  trouble 
with  the  pickets."1  The  Women's  Trade  Union  League, 
certain  wealthy  women,  and  young  college  girls  aided  the 
working  women  in  the  fight.  After  about  three  months  the 
employers  gave  up  the  struggle  and  conceded  practically  all 
that  the  workers  demanded.  The  employers,  members  of 
the  Associated  Waist  and  Dress  Manufacturers,  had  refused 

1  Samner,  The  Survey.    January  22,  1910,  p.  553. 


1 88     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

to  arbitrate  the  points  at  issue.  The  successful  termination 
of  this  strike  of  about  thirty  thousand  poor  Jewish,  Italian, 
and  American  working  girls  through  three  months  of  cold 
weather  proves  that  women  workers  can  be  organized  under 
pressure  into  effective  labor  organizations. 

The  spontaneity  of  action  on  the  part  of  unorganized  or 
partially  organized  workers  which  characterized  the  McKees 
Rocks  strike  and  that  of  the  shirt-waist  makers  was  mani- 
fested in  other  strikes  of  the  year  1910.  In  the  strike  at  the 
Bethlehem  Steel  Company's  plant  the  workers  were  unorgan- 
ized; but  unlike  the  McKees  Rocks  strike,  the  struggle  was 
precipitated  by  the  skilled  workers.  The  Cloak  and  Suit 
Makers'  strike  in  New  York  City  in  the  summer  of  1910  led 
to  rapid  organization,  and  the  chief  point  at  issue  became  the 
question  of  the  closed  shop.  In  the  conduct  of  the  strike 
the  principles  of  industrial  unionism  rather  than  those  of 
trade  unionism  were  adopted.  All  workers  in  the  industry 
went  on  a  strike.  The  street  car  strike  in  Philadelphia 
became  almost  a  general  strike,  many  organized  and  unorgan- 
ized workers  went  out  on  a  sympathetic  strike.  The  strike 
of  the  workers  living  in  the  "model  village"  of  Ludlow, 
Massachusetts,  and  working  for  the  Ludlow  Manufacturing 
Associates,  is  another  excellent  example  of  solidarity  among 
unorganized  and  semi-skilled  workers.  Unanimity  of  action 
grew  out  of  a  mass  meeting  called  to  discuss  the  grievances  of 
the  working  people.  The  strike  of  the  Garment  Workers  of 
Chicago  (1910-1911)  is  another  example  of  an  uprising  of  the 
unskilled  and  unorganized.  Without  any  definite  organiza- 
tion at  its  inception,  the  strike  spread  until  it  affected  40,000 
or  more  workers  and  a  multitude  of  shops.  These  strikers 
placed  little  confidence  in  leaders.  They  rejected  proposals 
assented  to  by  the  President  of  the  Chicago  Federation  of 
Labor  and  by  the  President  of  the  United  Garment  Workers. 
One  observer  stated:  —  "They  have  faith  only  in  themselves. 


COERCIVE    METHODS  189 

.  .  .  They  want  a  union  of  workers  and  not  of  leaders." 
Evidently  the  newer  form  of  industrial  unionism  is  impreg- 
nated with  a  feeling  of  intense  democracy. 

REFERENCES   FOR  FURTHER  READING 

Sixteenth  and  Twenty-first  Annual  Reports  of  the  Commissioner  oj 
Labor. 

Report  of  the  Industrial  Commission.     Vols.  17  and  19. 

Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics  of  Wisconsin.     1905-1906. 

The  Annals  of  the  American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Science, 
September,  1910,  contains  several  articles  on  the  general  subject,  "The 
Settlement  of  Labor  Disputes." 

Huebner,  Boycotting  and  Blacklisting.  Bulletins  issued  by  the 
Wisconsin  Free  Library  Commission. 

Mitchell,  Organized  Labor.     Chs.  33-39. 

Adams  and  Sumner,  Labor  Problems.     Ch.  6. 

Bolen,  Getting  a  Living.     Chs.  9  and  20. 

Adams,  "Violence  in  Labor  Disputes,"  Publications  of  the  American 
Economic  Association.  February,  1906. 

Farnam,  "The  Quantitative  Study  of  the  Labor  Movement,"  ibid. 

Boyle,  "Organized  Labor  and  Court  Decisions."  The  Forum.  Vol. 
42:  535  (1909). 

Hoxie,  "The  Trade-Union  Point  of  View,"  Journal  of  Political 
Economy.  Vol.  15:  345-363- 

Johnson,  "Injunctions  in  Labor  Disputes,"  in  American  Railway 
Transportation.  Pp.  396-401  (2nd  edition). 

Bliss,  New  Encyclopedia  of  Social  Reform.  Article  on  strikes  and 
boycotts. 

Buchanan,  Story  of  a  Labor  Agitator. 

Hall,  Sympathetic  Strikes  and  Sympathetic  Lockouts. 

Gompers,  "The  Boycott,"  American  Federationist.  November,  1907. 

Boyle,  "The  Union  Label,"  American  Journal  of  Sociology.  Vol. 
9:  163-172. 

Spedden,  "The  Trade  Union  Label,"  Johns  Hopkins  University 
Studies.  (1909). 

Wright,  Industrial  Evolution  of  the  United  States.      Chs.  25  and  26. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

INDUSTRIAL    REMUNERATION 

What  is  a  "Fair  Wage"?  The  discussion  of  the  methods  of 
industrial  remuneration  leads  inevitably  to  the  consideration 
of  the  proper  basis  of  a  just  or  fair  wage.  No  elaborate 
discussion  of  a  theory  of  wages  should  find  a  place  in  a  study 
of  the  problems  confronting  organized  labor;  but  it  is  fitting 
and  important  that  some  consideration  be  given  to  the  ques- 
tion of  the  determination  of  a  fair  wage.  In  medieval  times 
this  important  consideration  was  easily  and  summarily  dis- 
posed of  by  means  of  the  inelastic  measuring  rod  of  status  or 
of  class  distinction.  Medieval  writers  and  jurists  were  very 
clear  in  their  conception  of  fair  prices  and  fair  wages.  "Man, 
they  taught,  had  been  placed  by  God  in  ranks  or  orders, 
each  with  its  work  to  do,  and  each  with  its  own  appropriate 
mode  of  life,  i  That  gain  was  justified,  and  that  only  which 
was  sought  in  order  that  a  man  might  provide  for  himself  a 
fit  sustenance  in  his  own  rank."  l\  A  man  could  easily 
determine  for  himself,  without  resort  to  technicalities  or  courts 
of  arbitration,  the  proper  price  for  commodities  or  labor  time 
by  calculating  what  was  needed  to  support  himself  and  his 
family  in  accordance  with  his  status  in  life.  Each  class  in 
the  community  had  its  own  rather  definite  and  customary 
standard  of  living;  and  the  summit  of  personal  ambition  was 
success  within  a  limited  social  and  economic  sphere  rather 
than  that  of  progress  from  one  class  to  the  next  higher.  Ambi- 
tion was  curbed  and  chastened  by  the  great  fact  of  birth 

1  Ashley,  Economic  History  and  Theory.  Book  2 :  389. 
190 


INDUSTRIAL  REMUNERATION  191 

within  a  given  social  compartment.  ^Prices  and  wages  were 
to  be  so  regulated  as  to  maintain  class  immobility.  ) 

With  the  downfall  of  medievalism  and  the  passing  of 
mercantilism  came  the  rise  of  the  laissezfaire  philosophy.  It 
was  assumed  that  prices,  rates,  and  wages  were  fixed  automati- 
cally by  the  ceaseless  action  of  free  and  untrammeled  compe- 
tition. The  question  of  wages  offered  no  difficulties  provided 
free  competition  was  not  interfered  with.  But,  today,  the  ex- 
istence of  numerous  rate  and  arbitration  commissions  is  a  con- 
crete and  unmistakable  warning  that  competition  is  not  the 
active,  living,  vital  force  or  principle  that  economic  theory  has 
often  so  vividly  and  enthusiastically  pictured.  The  various 
and  sundry  attempts  to  fix  fair  prices,  living  wages,  and  reason- 
able rates  unmistakably  point  to  the  general  acceptance  of  the 
view  that  competition  does  not  act  as  many  economic  theo- 
rists have  dogmatically  argued.  Day  after  day  the  compet- 
itive field  is  being  gradually  narrowed.  In  the  economic  field 
the  investigator  of  today  may  find  a  variety  of  returns  many 
of  which  were  unknown  in  the  idealistic  realm  pictured  by  the 
classical  and  other  economists.  At  present  every  thinking 
person  recognizes  that  certain  lines  of  industrial  activity  are 
in  a  large  measure  outside  the  competitive  sphere.  For  ex- 
ample, railway  and  street  railway  fares,  rates  for  gas,  electric 
light,  water,  telegraph  and  telephone  service,  are  no  longer 
fixed  by  the  competitive  process.  ^Monopoly  is  a  potent 
factor  in  the  economic  world;  it  cannot  be  neglected  in  any 
careful  study  of  wages.  JThe  familiar  theories  of  wages,  such 
as  the  wage  fund  theory,  the  residual  theory,  and  the  marginal 
productivity  theory  are  all  grounded  upon  the  fundamental 
postulates  of  free  competition.  If,  however,  economic  fric- 
tion is  present,  none  of  these  theories  may  be  accepted  as  an 
adequate  guide. 

With  the  narrowing  of  the  competitive  field  the  question 
as  to  what  is  a  just  and  scientific  standard  of  measurement  for 


IQ2     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

wages,  prices,  and  rates  becomes  increasingly  important;  and, 
at  the  same  time,  it  becomes  much  more  difficult  to  solve 
because  the  basis  for  competitive  wages,  prices,  and  rates  is 
being  undermined.  Much  of  the  current  discussion  and 
theorizing  as  to  the  rights  of  labor  and  of  capital  is  futile 
because  either  the  existence  of  free  competition  is  assumed, 
or  reference  is  made  to  wages  or  prices  paid  in  the  past,  or 
some  arbitrary  standard  is  postulated  which  has  no  validity 
beyond  the  personal  desires  of  certain  individuals  or  classes. 
No  court  of  arbitration  or  board  of  conciliation  has  as  yet 
offered  any  definite  and  scientific  formula  by  means  of  which 
disputes  as  to  wages  or  conditions  of  labor  may  be  adjusted. 
(Nothing  has  been  discovered  to  replace  the  discarded  stand- 
ard of  medievalism  or  the  automatic  process  of  the  laissez 
faire  system.  1  The  finding  of  a  board  of  arbitration  is  merely 
a  compromise  which  removes  the  immediate  difficulty;  the 
root  of  the  matter  is  never  laid  bare.  An  anxious  public  is  not 
given  any  exact  data;  no  definite  method  of  procedure  is 
presented  which  may  be  used  as  a  basis  for  the  work  of  other 
boards  which  may  be  organized  at  some  future  date.  Courts 
of  arbitration  and  boards  of  conciliation  frequently  study  the 
physical,  social,  and  economic  conditions  in  Ijhe  industry  to 
which  their  attention  is  directed.  The  home  and  working 
environments  of  the  workingman  are  investigated,  a  careful 
estimate  of  the  household  budget  is  frequently  made,  and  the 
condition  of  the  workers  in  that  industry  and  locality  may  be 
compared  with  those  of  employees  in  other  industries  and 
localities.  Much  comparative  data  is  accumulated;  but  the 
crux  of  the  difficulty  still  remains.  Our  concept  of  a  fair 
wage  is  as  yet  very  elusive  and  indefinite.  Subjective, 
rather  than  objective,  considerations  seem  to  have  the  great- 
est weight.  In  this  respect  a  marked  contrast  may  be 
discerned  between  the  modern  and  the  medieval  viewpoint. 
Negatively  stated,  it  may  be  confidently  urged  that  an  ex- 


INDUSTRIAL  REMUNERATION  193 

tremely  low  wage,  such  as  is  paid  in  the  sweated  industries,  is 
not  a  fair  wage.  The  positive  statement  assumes  the  follow- 
ing form:  -f'A  fair  wage  is  one  which  allows  the  worker  and 
his  family  to  adopt  a  standard  of  living  in  harmony  with  local 
and  class  standards.)  The  practical  difficulties  are  a  multi- 
tude. A  fair  wage  for  an  unskilled  worker  would  not  be  a 
fair  wage  for  the  skilled  man.  A  wage  sufficient  to  maintain 
an  unmarried  man  in  comfort  may  be  inadequate  for  the 
married  wage  earner.  In  a  densely  populated  country,  it 
may  conceivably  be  impossible  to  pay  living  wages.  One 
additional  point,  however,  seems  clear :  —  An  adequate  mod- 
ern theory  of  fair  wages  and  fair  prices  cannot  rest  upon  a 
basis  of  special  privilege;  (it  must  stand  upon  the  firm  founda- 
tion of  equality  of  privileges  and  of  opportunities  and  of  the 
abolition  of  Artificial  and  inherited  inequalities.} 

Methods  of  Remuneration.  The  antagonism  between  labor 
and  capital  is  clearly  pushed  into  the  foreground  when  the 
question  of  wages  is  considered.  Each  laborer  is  vitally 
interested  in  an  increase  of  wages.  The  employer  is  interested, 
not  especially  in  lowering  the  general  rate  of  wages,  but  in 
fa  reduction  of  the  wages  paid  per  unit  of  output  in  his  own 
establishment.!  From  the  point  of  view  of  the  employer,  a 
system  of  wage  payment  is  desirable  if  it  reduces  the  labor 
cost  per  unit  of  output.  The  employer  seeks  a  system  which 
will  furnish  an  effective  incentive  to  stimulate  the  workers 
to  more  energetic  action.  Under  slavery,  fear  was  the  chief 
incentive; (under  the  wage  system,  fear  has  been  replaced  in  a 
measure  by  duty  and  by  the  desire  for  income./  The  employer 
is  anxious  to  install  a  system  which  will  provide  an  obvious 
incentive  to  the  worker  to  increase  his  output  without  caus- 
ing appreciable  deterioration  in  the  quality  of  the  output  or 
an  increase  in  the  amount  of  waste  involved  in  the  perform- 
ance of  the  work.  The  employee  is  opposed  to  any  system 
of  wage  payment  which  tends  to  reduce  the  wages  measured 


194    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

by  the  output  of  energy  and  by  the  ability  of  the  wage  earner 
or  which  tends  to  cause  overdriving  and  the  rapid  deteriora- 
tion of  the  worker,  that  is,  which  approximates  the  sweating 
system.  In  the  consideration  of  different  systems  of  wage 
payments,  these  somewhat  antagonistic  viewpoints  must  not 
be  overlooked. 

Seven  different  systems  of  wage  payments  will  be  briefly 
considered :  — ^time  wage,  task  wage,  piece  wage,  progressive 
wage,  the  sliding  scale,  profit  sharing,  cooperation. )  Cooper- 
ation is  not  strictly  a  system  of  wage  payment;  the  employer 
and  employee  are  not  separate  and  distinct  individuals. 
Nevertheless,  it  seems  advisable  to  discuss  its  advantages 
and  disadvantages  in  connection  with  systems  of  wage  pay- 
ment. One  difficulty  common  to  all  wage  systems  is  the 
determination  of  the  amount  of  output  which  ought  to  be 
accredited  to  organization  and  managerial  ability.  Economic 
interest  and  experience  lead  the  average  employee  to  mini- 
mize the  importance  of  business  organization,  and  the  em- 
ployer to  over-emphasize  the  same. 

I.  Time  Wage.  The  two  basic  systems  of  wage  payment 
are  the  time  and  the  piece  wage.  Other  systems  are  modifica- 
tions or  combinations  of  these  two.  In  the  time  wage  system 
the  base  is  a  unit  of  time,  one  hour,  one  day,  or  one  week;  in 
the  piece  wage  system  the  basis  is  a  unit  of  output  of  the 
worker.  Nevertheless,  under  the  time  wage  system  the  em- 
ployer is  not  indifferent  to  the  output  of  the  worker;  nor  under 
the  piece  wage  system  to  the  speed  of  the  worker.  If  the 
worker  who  is  paid  by  the  hour  or  the  day  falls  below  a  certain 
average  minimum  output  in  a  given  time,  he  will  be  discharged 
or  his  wages  cut.  On  the  other  hand,  the  employer  cannot 
afford  to  utilize  the  services  of  a  slow  piece-worker  because  of 
the  inefficient  use  of  tools,  machinery,  and  plant  furnished  by 
the  employer.  Under  the  time  system  it  is  extremely  difficult 
for  the  employer  to  quicken  the  pace  of  the  employee,  or  to 


INDUSTRIAL  REMUNERATION  195 

ascertain  whether  his  men  are  working  at  a  reasonable  rate  of 
speed.  The  fast  and  skilled  men  naturally  adjust  their  pace 
to  that  of  the  slower  and  less  skilful.  Within  certain  elastic 
limits  the  time  wage  system  tends  to  level  the  rate  of  pay  for 
men  in  a  given  trade  or  subdivision  of  a  trade.  /Wages  are  not 
paid  in  proportion  to  different  individual  capacities.  As  a 
consequence,  uniformity  of  output  is  approximated.  / 
I  The  chief  incentives  to  efficient  work  are  the  fear  of  dis- 
charge if  the  output  falls  below  a  rather  indefinite  minimum, 
a  feeling  of  duty  or  of  obligation  to  do  a  fair  day's  work  for  a 
day's  wage,  emulation  of  other  workers  or  rivalry  between 
workers,  and  the  hope  of  advancement  or  of  an  increase  in 
wages.^The  first  incentive  is  strongest  in  periods  of  depres- 
sion and  of  slack  work.  Skilful  managers  often  stimulate 
emulation  or  rivalry  among  employees.  The  United  States 
Steel  Corporation,  for  example,  not  only  stimulates  rivalry 
between  individual  workers,  but  also  between  different  de- 
partments in  the  same  plant  and  between  various  plants. 
The  hope  of  advancement  is  more  potent  among  skilled  than 
among  unskilled  workers.  The  potency  of  the  feeling  of  duty 
to  render  good  service  for  wages  promised  is  undoubtedly 
reduced  by  those  changes  which  tend  to  separate  employer 
from  employee,  and  which  increase  the  feelings  of  antagonism 
between  the  employing  and  the  employed  classes. 

In  general  the  time  wage  system  may  be  considered  to  be 
particularly  desirable  when  one  or  more  of  the  following 
conditions  obtain:  —  (a)  It  is  difficult  to  easily  ascertain  the 
quality  of  workmanship,  (b)  A  given  article  is  the  joint 
product  of  several  individuals,  (c)  The  machinery  is  deli- 
cate and  costly,  (d)  The  material  utilized  is  expensive. 
(e)  The  work  is  of  an  abnormal  nature,  such  as  repair 
work.  (/)  The  counting  or  measuring  of  the  product  is 
a  slow  or  difficult  task.  As  a  rule,  labor  organizations  are 
more  inclined  to  look  with  favor  upon  the  time  than  upon 


196    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

the  piece  wage  system.  Their  attitude,  however,  is  governed 
by  the  special  conditions  and  circumstances  surrounding  the 
work  in  specific  trades. 

II.  Task  Wage.     Under  this  system  of  wage  payment,  the 
workman  is  obliged  to  finish  a  standard  amount  of  output 
within  a  given  period  of  time  or  suffer  a  reduction  in  his 
wages  for  that  period.     But  if  he  produces  an  output  in 
excess  of  his  required  daily  task,  he  is  not  entitled  to  addi- 
tional wages.     The  task  system  among  the  Jewish  clothing 
workers   has   led   to   over-exertion   and   over-driving   in   an 
extreme  form.1 

III.  Piece  Wage.    As  wages  under  this  system  of  wage 
payment  are  proportional  to  individual  output,  ^he  desire  to 
increase  income  is  the  direct  and  potent  incentive  to  more 
rapid  work./  Theoretically,  wages  paid  by  the  piece  vary  in 
accordance  with  individual  capacity.     Since  the  piece  rate 
is  usually  fixed  in  an  arbitrary  and  purely  empirical  manner, 
the  employer  is  often  sorely  tempted  to  cut  the  rate;  and  he 
frequently  yields  to  the  temptation.     "The  ordinary  piece- 
work system  involves  a  permanent  antagonism  between  em- 
ployers and  men,  and  a  certainty  of  punishment  for  each 
workman  who  reaches  a  high   rate  of  efficiency."     Conse- 
quently, in  actual  practice  the  fear,  born  of  repeated  experi- 
ences, that  the  rate  per  piece  will  be  cut  if  wages  per  hour 
rise  much  above  the  average  time  wage,  leads  toward  uni- 
formity of  output  on  the  part  of  different  workers.     The 
rapid  worker  is  also  discouraged  in  a  variety  of  ways  by  his 
shop-mates  from  exerting  himself  to  a  maximum.     "Soldier- 
ing" or  "killing  time"  is,  however,  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

(The  piece  wage  system  is  especially  desirable  in  cases  where 
supervision  is  difficult.  ) 

(  The   piece   wage   system   sacrifices   quality   for   quantity.  J 
Oversight  and  prodding  by  the  foreman  are  in  a  large  measure 
1  See  Chapter  XII,  pp.  362-364. 


INDUSTRIAL  REMUNERATION  197 

eliminated  /but  the  work  of  the  inspector  of  the  finished  article 
is  of  great  importance^  Piece  work  often  drives  the  worker 
to  over-exertion;  and^hysical  and  nervous  overstrain  is  a  con- 
sequence of  its  introduction.  The  individual  is  induced  to 
sacrifice  his  future  wage  and  efficiency  for  an  advance  today. 
In  certain  cases,  however,  a  piece  wage  system  may  reduce 
rather  than  increase  over-exertion.  For  example,  in  the  cot- 
ton spinning  industry  under  the  time  wage  system  the  speed 
of  the  machine  may  be  almost  imperceptibly  increased.  The 
worker  is  obliged  to  gauge  his  rapidity  of  movement  by  the 
speed  of  the  machinery.  Under  such  circumstances,  certain 
objections  to  the  piece  wage  system  vanish;  and  the  employer 
is  given  a  weaker  incentive  to  speed  up  the  spinning  machinery 
until  the  health  of  the  operative  is  endangered. 

IV.  The  Progressive  Wage  or  the  Premium  Plan.  Guess- 
work and  rule-of-thumb  methods  have  no  place  in  the  modern 
factory.  Business  engineering  is  rapidly  being  placed  upon 
a  scientific  basis.  Method::  of  performing  work  are  being 
carefully  and  intensively  studied.  The  business  engineer, 
the  accountant,  time  cards,  and  elaborate  systems  of  book- 
keeping are  important  factors  in  every  large  and  up-to-date 
factory.  The  cost  of  production  of  each  and  every  minute 
part  or  operation  is  accurately  determined.  Expenses  of  pro- 
duction —  materials  and  labor  cost  —  are  known.  A  careful 
study  is  made  of  both  the  man  and  the  machine.  The  appli- 
cation of  scientific  principles  to  the  art  of  bricklaying  has 
demonstrated  that  many  of  the  customary  motions  of  the 
bricklayers  are  unnecessary.  Experts  are  needed  to  study 
each  particular  kind  or  process  of  work.  The  potentialities  of 
scientific  business  engineering  seem  enormous.  One  writer 
has  hinted  at  a  new  "industrial  revolution"  as  a  consequence 
of  the  use  of  scientific  methods  in  business  management.  If 
be  true,  the  great  mass  of  the  population  including  all  the 

age  earners  should  use  their  endeavors,  not  only  "to  forestall 


A* 


198     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

its  miseries,  but  to  socialize  the  benefits  which  would  come 
from  great  leaps  in  production."  x  The  pioneer  and  most 
noted  exponent  of  scientific  management  is  Mr.  F.  W.  Taylor. 

Progressive  wage  systems  are  a  part  of  the  fruits  of  business 
engineering.  The  normal  time  required  to  perform  a  giveny 
operation  is  carefully  ascertained  by  a  series  of  tests.  In  this 
manner  the  empirical  rate  of  the  ordinary  piece-work  system  is 
replaced  by  a  systematically  ascertained  "time  base."  I  A  pro- 
gressive wage  system  is  a  combination  of  the  piece  and  time 
wage  system.  J  Since  the  time  base  is  carefully  ascertained,  the 
temptation  to  cut  the  rate  is  in  a  large  measure  removed,  and 
one  serious  defect  of  piece  work  obviated.  The  prodding  of  the 
foreman,  which  is  a  disagreeable  feature  of  the  time  wage,  is 
replaced  by  the  accurate  record  of  the  time  card. 

The  advocates  of  the  premium  plan  assert  that  it  saves 
time  and  increases  output.  The  danger  of  stimulating  the 
worker  to  over-exertion  is  not  eliminated;  but  it  is  somewhat 
less  than  in  the  case  of  piece-work.  The  premium  plan  can  be 
most  satisfactorily  applied  in  shops  where  the  same  articles 
are  produced  day  after  day.  New  operations  cannot  be 
brought  within  the  scope  of  the  premium  plan  until  they  have 
been  subjected  to  careful  experimentation  in  order  to  ascertain 
the  proper  time  base.  The  progressive  wage  system  is  some- 
times called  gain  sharing;  it  is  a  direct  form  of  profit  sharing. 
The  worker's  share  in  the  profits  due  to  his  extra  exertion  is 
paid  to  him  on  each  pay  day.  Many  employers  doubtless 
favor  a  premium  system,  not  merely  because  it  increases  out- 
put and  lowers  costs,  but  because  they  believe  that  such  a 
plan  of  wage  payment  will  tend  to  prevent  the  growth  of 
union  sentiment  in  their  factories.  The  capable  and  strong 
workers  will  be  enabled  to  earn  high  wages  and  will  not  be 
tempted  to  become  leaders  in  a  labor  organization.  In  New 

1  Kellogg,  "  A  National  Hearing  for  Scientific  Management,"  The  Survey. 
Dec.  3,  1910. 


INDUSTRIAL    REMUNERATION  199 

Zealand,  it  has  been  proposed  that  the  "living  wage"  stand- 
ard ought  to  be  supplemented  by  a  premium  wage  for  effi- 
ciency. This  proposal  was  not  well  received  by  labor  leaders. 
Opposition  to  anything  savoring  of  a  task  system  or  stimu- 
lating pace-making,  is  to  be  expected  from  organized  labor. 
(a)  Halsey's  Plan.  Perhaps  the  most  famous  premium 
plan  is  one  first  presented  by  Mr.  F.  A.  Halsey.  CThe  two 
fundamental  considerations  in  this  plan  are  the  time  base  and 
theNamount  of  the  premium  to  be  paid.  "JAfter  careful  ex- 
perimentation the  normal  time  required  to 'do  a  given  job  is 
ascertained.  If  the  worker  finishes  a  given  job  in  less  time, 
a  premium  is  paid  for  the  reduction  in  time.  The  determina- 
tion of  the  amount  of  the  premium  is  really  a  matter  of  psy- 
chology. The  aim  is  to  produce  the  maximum  incentive  at  the 
minimum  cost.  If  a  man  does  not  produce  the  normal  or 
standard  amount  of  work  in  a  day,  he  still  receives  the  usual 
day's  wage.  For  example,  if  a  given  job  normally  requires 
ten  hours'  work  and  the  worker  is  paid  at  the  rate  of  thirty 
cents  per  hour,  the  time  base  is  three  dollars.  This  amount 
will  be  paid  whether  the  job  is  completed  or  not  in  the  ten 
hours.  If  the  premium  is  ten  cents  for  every  hour  saved  and 
the  work  is  completed  in  nine  instead  of  ten  hours,  the  worker 
will  receive  $2.70  plus  ten  cents  or  $2.80  for  nine  hours'  work; 
or  approximately  $3.11  instead  of  $3.00  for  ten  hours'  work. 
Where  considerable  physical  exertion  is  required  or  in  case 
the  work  is  unusually  disagreeable,  a  larger  premium  must  be 
paid  in  order  to  stimulate  the  worker  than  is  necessary  for 
lighter  or  more  agreeable  work.  The  time  base  should  only 
be  changed  when  some  change  or  improvement  is  made  in  the 
process  of  turning  out  the  particular  article  or  in  performing 
a  particular  operation.  If  the  time  base  is  arbitrarily  changed, 
the  system  degenerates  into  a  piece  wage  system.  Emerson's 
cumulative  system  eliminates  the  daily  fluctuations  by 
figuring  the  bonus  upon  the  work  done  in  a  month. 


200    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

(6)  The  Differential  Piece-Rate  Plan/  Under  this  system 
,if  a  worker  does  not  attain  a  certain  minimum  rate  of  work, 
{his  wage  rate  per  piece  is  cut.^  A  further  reduction  is  to  be 
made  if  some  of  the  work  is  imperfect.  If  the  maximum  rate 
is  ten  pieces  per  day,  the  worker  is  to  receive,  for  example, 
thirty  cents  per  piece;  but  if  he  only  turns  out  nine  pieces,  he 
will  receive  only  twenty-eight  cents  per  piece.  This  plan 
seems  to  be  an  undesirable  form  of  a  task  system,  (c)  An 
English  system  —  Rowan's  plan  —  is  worthy  of  brief  notice. 
(The  pay  of  the  worker  increases  as  the  time  required  to  com- 
plete a  given  job  is  decreased;! but  the  rate  can  never  be  in- 
creased beyond  twice  the  original  rate  per  hour.  For  example, 
suppose  the  time  base  for  a  given  order  of  ten  pieces  is  ten 
hours,  and  the  day  wage  is  $3.00.  For  every  hour  gained 
one-tenth  of  the  original  wage  per  hour  is  to  be  added  to  the 
rate.  The  cost  per  piece  is  reduced  while  the  wage  per  hour 
is  increased.  The  following  table  shows  the  rate  of  payment 
when  the  job  is  done  in  ten  hours,  in  nine  hours,  and  in  eight 
hours. 

Pieces. 


IO 
IO 
IO 


Time. 

Wage. 

Wage. 

Cost. 

hours 

per  hour 

per  ten-hour  day 

per  piece 

IO 

30  cents 

$3-00 

30  cents 

9 

33 

3-3° 

29.7 

8 

36 

3.60 

28.8 

Mr.  Rowan  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Halsey  argues  that  the  Rowan 
plan  is  one  which  will  not  necessitate  cuts  in  the  rate  of  pay- 
ment when  extraordinary  increases  are  made  in  the  total 
daily  output  of  the  worker.  The  former  writes  that  "while 
yours  is  a  decided  improvement  upon  the  ordinary  piece- 
work system  when  you  come  to  great  reductions  in  the  hours 
taken,  and  these  are  the  stages  at  which  you  wish  to  encourage 
the  men  as  well  as  at  the  earlier  stages,  here  I  think  my  system 
has  a  great  advantage  over  any  other  system  of  which  I  have 
yet  heard."1 

1  Commons,  Trade  Unionism  and  Labor  Problems,  p.  288. 


INDUSTRIAL  REMUNERATION  201 

V.  Sliding  Scale.    The  sliding  scale  has  been  used  chiefly 
in  the  mining  industry.  £The  wages  are  automatically  lowered 
or  raised  as  the  price  of  the  product  fluctuates.  JThe  wage 
earner  under  this  system  is  dependent  upon  the  vicissitudes  of 
the  market.    Unless  a  minimum  rate  is  established,  a  decided 
slump  in  prices  might  send  wages  below  a  "living  wage." 
Suppose,  for  example,  that  $2.00  per  ton  is  taken  as  the  stand- 
ard or  average  price  of  coal  at  the  mine.    A  certain  wage  will 
be  agreed  upon  as  the  standard  wage  when  coal  sells  at  that 
price.     If  the  price  of  coal  rises  five  cents  per  ton,  the  wage 
will  be  increased  a  certain  definite  percentage  of  the  standard 
wage,  for  example,  two  per  cent.     If  the  price  rises  ten  cents, 
the  increase  in  wages  will  be  four  per  cent.     On  the  other 
hand,  when  lower  prices  obtain,  the  wage  rate  will  be  reduced. 

VI.  Profit   Sharing.     Profit   sharing   and   cooperation   are 
essentially  proposed  panaceas  for  the  evils  arising  under  the 
present  industrial  order;  but  it  seems  advisable  to  consider 
both  in  the  present  chapter.     Profit  sharing  is  a  system  sup- 
plementing the  ordinary  methods  of  wage  payment.     It  has 
been  tried  as  a  remedy  for  certain  evils  connected  with  the 
present  relations  between  labor  and  capital.     Under  profit 
sharing  the  worker  is  to  be  paid  time  or  piece  wages.       In 
addition  he  is  promised  some  more  or  less  definite  share  in  the 
profits  of  the  business,  if  profits  are  earned.     This  method  is 
quite  dissimilar  from  gain  sharing  as  carried  out  under  some 
form  of  the  premium  plan.     In  the  case  of  gain  sharing,  the 
bonus  or  premium  received  is  due  solely  to  the  extra  exertion 
and    dexterity    of    the   individual   workman.     Under   profit 
sharing,  the  dividend  paid  to  the  workman  depends  upon  a 
multitude  of  circumstances  —  such  as  the  business  ability  of 
managers,   conditions  of  the  market,  the  efficiency  of   the 
entire  working  staff,  and  the  carefulness  and  efficiency  of  each 
individual  worker.     The  effort  and  efficiency  of  a  particular 
worker  are  only  one  factor  in  producing  profits;  and  may  be 


202     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

more  than  counterbalanced  by  the  inefficient  functioning  of 
other  parts  of  the  industrial  and  business  mechanism. 

The  advocates  of  profit  sharing  assert  that  it  will  remove 
many  difficulties  now  imbedded  in  our  industrial  system. 
But  the  general  adoption  of  profit  sharing  would  cause  little 
change  in  that  system.  The  wage  system  would  remain;  and 
the  employer  would  still  be  in  control  of  industry.  Profit 
sharing  is  paternalistic  or  of  the  nature  of  a  benevolent 
autocracy;  it  is  far  removed  from  industrial  democracy.  It 
is  difficult  to  see  how  the  fundamental  antagonism  between  the 
employer,  anxious  to  increase  his  share  in  the  product  of  a 
given  plant,  and  the  employee  likewise  desirous  of  adding  to 
Ms  yearly  income  can  be  removed  by  any  indefinite  free-will 
offering  on  the  part  of  the  former.  The  system  originated 
in  France.  A  house  painter  and  decorator  named  Leclaire 
first  tried  it  in  1843.  ''The  Maison  Leclaire"  became  an 
important  and  successful  business.  Various  experiments  have 
been  tried  in  England  and  in  the  United  States;  but  there  is 
no  immediate  prospect  of  any  considerable  development  of 
the  system. 

Product  Sharing.  Product  sharing  may  be  considered  to 
be  the  prototype  of  profit  sharing.  "Profit  sharing,  whether 
in  agriculture,  trade,  or  manufacture  is  the  adaptation  of  this 
ancient  and  approved  product  sharing  to  the  conditions  of 
modern  industrial  life.  "l  In  agriculture,  the  metaner  system 
or  share  farming  is  a  form  of  product  sharing.  The  owner  of 
the  farm  furnishes  the  land,  the  buildings,  and,  oftentimes,  a 
portion  of  the  implements,  live-stock,  and  seeds.  The  product 
is  shared  between  the  owner  and  the  tenant  in  accordance 
with  a  contract  made  at  the  opening  of  the  season.  In  the 
fishing  industry,  the  proceeds  of  a  given  catch  or  a  given 
voyage  are  often  divided  among  the  crew.  Wages  are  not 
paid;  the  recompense  depends  entirely  upon  the  size  of  the 

Oilman,  Profit  Sharing,  p.  418. 


INDUSTRIAL  REMUNERATION  203 

catch.  Product  sharing  does  not  provide  for  wages.  Profit 
sharing  provides  for  an  allowance  in  addition  to  the  ordinary 
wage. 

Methods.  (There  are  three  important  systems  of  profit 
sharing:  —  cash  payments  made  at  the  end  of  a  given  period; 
deferred  participation;  and  payment  in  the  stock  of  the  com- 
pany.1 jln  the  United  States  and  in  England  the  first  and 
third  methods  are  chiefly  used.  The  second  is  often  used  in 
France.  The  S.  M.  Jones  Company  of  Toledo  for  some  years 
paid  a  cash  bonus  of  five  per  cent,  of  the  annual  wages  of  each 
employee.  Later,  instead  of  paying  cash,  the  amount  of  the 
bonus  was  allowed  as  a  partial  payment  toward  a  share  of  the 
stock  of  the  company.  A  wholesale  grocer  in  Toledo  for  some 
years  paid  an  equal  cash  bonus  to  each  of  his  employees,  —  the 
unskilled  shared  equally  with  the  skilled.  The  Cabot  Manu- 
facturing Company  presents  an  example  of  the  trial  of  a  plan 
of  profit  sharing  combining  cash  and  deferred  payments. 
This  company  manufactures  certain  chemical  products. 
Before  an  operative  can  participate  in  the  benefits  of  the 
profit  sharing  system,  he  must  sign  a  paper  binding  him  to 
give  a  notice  of  sixty  days  before  leaving  the  employ  of  the 
company  and  to  do  "all  in  his  power  to  save  expenses."  A 
certain  portion  of  the  net  profits  —  known  only  to  the  pro- 
prietor —  is  divided  among  the  workers  according  to  the 
wages  received  by  each  profit  sharer.  One-half  of  the  profits 
is  paid  in  cash  and  one-half  is  placed  in  a  savings  bank  by 
the  proprietor  as  trustee.  If  an  employee  dies,  his  heirs  are 
entitled  to  the  accumulated  fund.  If  an  employee  leaves  the 
factory,  "and  gives  the  required  sixty  days'  notice,  the  fund 
remains  at  interest  two  years  in  the  bank,  and  is  then  handed 
over  to  the  operative,  provided  he  has  not  sold  the  secrets  or 
formulas  he  may  have  learned  in  the  course  of  his  employment 
in  these  works."  If  an  employee  does  not  keep  his  agree- 
1  Adams  and  Sumner,  Labor  Problems,  p.  335. 


204    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

merit,  the  accumulated  fund  to  his  credit  is  divided  among 
remaining  profit  sharers.  This  is  a  very  significant  provi- 
sion. In  case  of  a  strike,  the  strikers  would  lose  their  accumu- 
lated dividends  and  those  who  remained  at  work  would  have 
this  amount  added  to  their  dividends. 

If  employees  buy  shares  in  the  company  which  employs 
them,  they  do  not  become  profit  sharers.  The  dividends 
received  are  paid  to  them  as  stockholders  instead  of  employees 
of  the  company.  When  shares  of  stock  are  given  as  a  bonus  or 
a  share  of  stock  is  offered  to  the  employee  at  a  reduced  price, 
the  employees  may  be  considered  to  be  profit  sharers.  The 
United  States  Steel  Corporation  has  offered  to  sell  a  limited 
amount  of  its  stock  to  its  employees  at  prices  somewhat 
below  market  prices.  This  offer  was  not  enthusiastically 
received.  The  individual  workman  cannot  see  that  it  is  es- 
pecially advantageous  to  own  one  or  two  shares  in  that  great 
corporation.  The  Proctor  and  Gamble  Company,  manufac- 
turers of  soap,  require  an  employee  to  become  a  stockholder 
before  he  can  participate  in  the  benefits  of  their  profit  sharing 
scheme.  The  N.  O.  Nelson  Company  pays  a  stock  bonus. 

Advantages  of  Profit  Sharing.  The  advocates  of  some  system 
of  profit  sharing  urge  that  the  unmodified  and  unimproved 
wage  system  is  a  failure.  It  does  not  give  the  worker  a  direct 
and  personal  interest  in  his  work;  and,  as  a  result,  antagonism 
develops  between  employer  and  employee.  Piece-work  and 
the  various  premium  plans  stimulate  the  worker  to  greater 
exertion;  but  they  do  not  cause  him  to  be  more  careful  of  the 
machinery  and  tools  which  he  uses;  and  these  systems  of 
wage  payment,  it  is  contended,  do  not  aid  in  eliminating  the 
waste  of  material  used  in  production.  It  is  possible,  for 
.example,  to  cut  leather  for  shoes  so  that  much  material  will 
oe  wasted.  Indeed,  a  workman  who  is  working  against  time 
as  a  piece-worker  cannot  be  expected  to  reduce  his  speed  in 
order  to  save  material.  Under  profit  sharing,  a  saving  in 


INDUSTRIAL  REMUNERATION  205 

material  is  as  potent  in  increasing  the  dividends  paid  to  the 
worker  as  is  a  reduction  in  the  time  of  performing  a  given 
operation.  It  is  further  asserted  that  the  workman  who  is  a 
profit  sharer  also  has  a  personal  interest  in  caring  for  the  tools 
and  machinery  committed  to  his  charge.  According  to  its 
friends  and  advocates,  profit  sharing  will  improve  the  quality 
of  the  product,  will  induce  the  workman  to  be  more  careful  of 
his  tools,  will  reduce  the  waste  of  material  used  in  making 
the  finished  product,  and  will,  in  no  small  measure,  eliminate 
the  friction  between  employer  and  employed. 

If  profit  sharing  is  to  be  a  success  as  a  business  proposition 
and  as  a  project  to  reduce  the  friction  between  the  employer 
and  the  employed,  additional  profits  must  be  produced  as  a 
result  of  its  introduction.  If,  however,  the  workers  have  been 
stimulated,  as  they  usually  are  in  America,  practically  to  the 
limit  of  their  physical  strength  by  means  of  the  prodding  of 
foremen,  piece-work,  or  a  progressive  wage  system,  an  extra 
bonus  cannot  be  produced  except  by  saving  material  or 
reducing  the  wear  and  tear  upon  machinery  and  tools.  /  In 
any  industry  where  the  men  are  driven  nearly  to  their  limit 
profit  sharing  will  be  of  little  economic  importance  unless  the 
element  of  waste  material  and  wear  and  tear  upon  machines 
and  tools  is  a  very  important  consideration. )  In  a  monopolistic 
industry,  profit  sharing  may  be  successfully  practiced  since 
the  firm  may  consider  it  advantageous  to  keep  the  men  con- 
tented by  paying  higher  wages  plus  a  bonus  or  share  in  the 
profits.  But  the  reason  for  the  adoption  of  such  a  policy  is 
not  purely  economic,  that  is,  the  expectation  of  additional 
profits  is  not  the  immediate  and  the  chief  motive  leading  to 
the  adoption  of  this  policy.  . 

Objections  to  the  System.     (a)l As  a  stimulus  to  the  individual 
worker  to  increase  his  output,  profit  sharing  is  less  direct  and 
potent  than  a  piece  wage  or  some  form  of  a  progressive  wage.>\ 
An  increase  in  the  amount  contained  in  the  next  pay  envelope 


206    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

is  much  more  stirring  and  invigorating  to  the  average  person 
than  the  possibility  of  a  dividend  declared  some  time  next  win- 
ter. The  nexus  between  individual  effort  and  a  larger  piece  or 
premium  wage  is  also  much  closer  than  that  between  individ- 
ual effort  and  company  profits,  nti)  Profit  sharing  is  a  one-  <j_ 
sided  matter.  )  There  is  really  only  one  party  controlling  the 
scheme,  —  the  employer.  He  proposes  it,  decides  upon  the 
amount  of  the  bonus,  manages  the  business,  and  absolutely 
controls  the  bookkeeping.  From  the  point  of  view  of  the 
workers,  their  share  in  the  profits  is  substantially  a  gift. 
Under  such  circumstances,  the  worker  cannot  feel  that  he  is 
a  part  owner  and  manager  of  the  business.  Care  and  economy 
on  the  part  of  the  worker  can  only  be  effectively  stimulated 
in  the  mass  of  the  workers  when  profit  sharing  approaches 
cooperation,  when  industrial  autocracy  is  replaced  by  indus- 
trial democracy. 

(c)£Profit  sharing,  instead  of  reducing  the  friction  between 
labor  and  capital,  may  increase  it  because  the  possible  points  1 
of  difference  between  employer  and  employees  are  increased 
rather  than  diminished.  NThe  question  of  how  much  the 
laborer  should  receive  and  how  much  should  go  to  the  em- 
ployer, still  remains  practically  unchanged  under  profit  shar- 
ing. If  the  system  should  become  universal  would  not  the 
struggle  now  so  frequent  as  to  the  rate  of  wages  continue,  and 
in  addition  would  not  disputes  often  arise  as  to  the  division 
of  profits?  As  the  books  of  the  company  are  not  usually  open 
to  inspection,  the  suspicion  may  arise  that  the  company  is 
not  dealing  fairly  with  its  employees.  The  wage  system 
gives  the  worker  a  definite  contractual  income  per  day  or  per 
piece.  Profit  sharing  makes  the  income  of  the  employee  in  a 
measure  dependent  upon  the  vicissitudes  of  the  business 
world.  Profit  sharing  "offends  against  that  cardinal  princi- 
ple which  demands  'that  every  man  shall  receive  his  own 
reward  according  to  his  own  labor."  The  reduction  in 


INDUSTRIAL  REMUNERATION  207 

costs  resulting  from  greater  care,  diligence,  and  speed,  and 
leading  to  increased  profits  to  be  shared  between  labor  and 
capital,  may  be  counterbalanced  by  bad  management  so  that 
no  profits  may  accrue  to  be  distributed. 

Systems  of  profit  sharing  have  usually  been  inaugurated 
by  employers  for  one  or  more  of  three  reasons: — (i)  In 
order  to  increase  the  output  of  the  factory,  to  induce  the 
workers  to  be  more  careful  of  tools  and  machinery,  and  to 
reduce  the  waste  of  material.  (2)  To  appease  the  workers 
and  to  alienate  them  from  their  union  or  to  prevent  the  for- 
mation of  a  union  among  the  employees.  (3)  For  humani- 
tarian or  philanthropic  (not  business)  reasons. 

The  first  motive  needs  no  further  discussion.  Effective 
trade-union  action  is  only  possible  when  the  members  of  the 
union  feel  that  their  interests  are  furthered  through  the  use 
of  the  trade-union  methods  and  weapons.  If  the  employees 
of  a  company  become  owners  of  shares  of  stock,  or  have  the 
prospect  of  receiving  an  annuity  or  an  annual  bonus,  they  are 
less  ready  to  use  union  methods  in  order  to  secure  higher 
wages,  better  conditions,  or  a  shorter  working  day.  A  strike 
would  endanger  their  profits.  A  wage  earner  who  is  also  a 
profit  sharer  is  less  loyal  to  his  union  and  will  be  less  favorable 
to  the  adoption  of  coercive  measures  against  the  employing 
firm  than  the  man  who  is  simply  a  wage  earner.  The  solidar- 
ity of  the  modern  labor  organization  is  a  phenomenon  which 
can  only  appear  in  a  wage  earners'  union.  Such  solidarity 
would  be  impossible  in  a  mixed  union.  Profit  sharing  in- 
evitably tends  to  disintegrate  unions  and  to  dilute  unionism. 
No  inconsiderable  percentage  of  profit  sharing  systems  have 
been  inaugurated  after  a  strike  or  after  a  period  of  agitation. 
Many  employers  recognize  the  possibility  of  using  this  gentle 
but  potent  means  to  secure  industrial  peace;  and  labor  leaders 
are  not  blind  to  this  situation. 

With  men  like  the  late  S.  M.  Jones  and  N.  O.  Nelson, 


208    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

humanitarian  reasons  undoubtedly  took  precedence  ovei 
others.  Both  were  engaged  in  highly  profitable  busi- 
nesses; both  were  well-to-do  men;  and  both  were  actu- 
ated by  high  and  non-mercenary  ideals.  Profit  sharing 
works  well  in  such  hands;  but  their  experience  is  of  little 
value  as  a  guide  in  studying  the  system.  Such  men  are 
primarily  philanthropists.  Their  scheme  of  profit  sharing 
points  toward  some  paternalistic  Utopia,  not  toward  indus- 
trial democracy. 

Conclusion.  Profit  sharing  cannot  be  considered  to  be  of 
importance  as  a  means  of  solving  any  of  the  vexed  problems 
connected  with  the  relations  existing  between  labor  and  capi- 
tal. I  Profit  sharing  retains  the  forms  of  the  ordinary  wage 
system;  it  merely  adds  to  that  system  a  method  of  bonus 
payment.  \  At  best,  it  is  only  a  palliative  or  a  sedative. 
Profit  sharing  is  either  a  form  of  philanthropic  enterprise,  or  a 
kind  of  sugar-coated  industrial  autocracy.  Only  as  it  ap- 
proaches cooperation  in  form  and  method  can  this  system  be 
considered  to  be  of  important  industrial  significance.  In 
competitive  businesses,  with  employees  working  under  high 
pressure,  there  will  be  few  or  no  additional  profits  derived  as 
the  consequence  of  the  adoption  of  a  system  of  profit  sharing. 
I  It  is  most  successful  in  a  monopolistic  business  earning  more 
than  competitive  profits.  The  workers  are  given  a  share  in 
the  extraordinary  or  monopoly  gains  of  the  business/)  But 
in  such  a  case,  the  basis  of  the  system  is  not  economic,  but 
philanthropic  or  political.  Discontented  workmen  may  sug- 
gest unpleasant  official  or  unofficial  investigations.  On  the 
other  hand,  contented  workmen  sharing  in  monopoly  profits 
are  not  likely  to  look  with  favor  upon  such  investigations. 
The  deferred  payment  scheme  is  not  inviting  to  Americans 
because  of  the  extreme  mobility  of  the  labor  force,  and  be- 
cause the  American  workman  is  impatient  of  slow  gains,  is 
improvident,  and  is  fearful  that  he  may  in  some  way  be 


INDUSTRIAL    REMUNERATION  209 

finally  cheated  out  of  the  promised  annuity.  The  cash  bonus 
system  has  the  best  prospect  of  success  in  this  country, 
although  the  stock  sharing  system  may  succeed  in  a  measure 
among  the  more  highly  paid  operatives. 

Welfare  Work.  The  so-called  "welfare  work"  carried  out 
by  certain  firms,  may  be  considered  an  attenuated  form  of 
profit  sharing.  It  has  been  defined  as  including  "all  of  those 
services  which  an  employer  may  render  to  his  work  people 
over  and  above  the  payment  of  wages."  Welfare  work  usu- 
ally has  for  its  basis  the  improvement  of  working  conditions 
within  the  factory  or  shop,  the  betterment  of  the  home  en- 
vironment of  the  workers,  provisions  for  educational  facil- 
ities or  provisions  for  wholesome  and  healthful  recreation. 
"Model"  homes  may  be  built  for  the  working  people  and 
rented  to  them  at  low  rentals,  an  attractive  dining  room  which 
furnishes  meals  at  cost  prices  may  be  provided,  night  schools 
for  employees  and  kindergartens  for  their  children  may  be 
established,  baths  and  amusement  parks  may  be  provided, 
or  the  sanitary  conditions  within  the*  factory  may  be  improved, 
-  these  are  a  few  of  the  many  varieties  of  welfare  work.  The 
increasing  attention  which  is  being  paid  to  welfare  work  or 
"industrial  betterment"  is  indicative  of  a  tendency  to  accept 
the  idea  that  it  is  not  only  humane,  but  business-like,  to 
strive  to  conserve  the  health  and  efficiency  of  the  workers 
in  a  given  establishment.  A  few  companies  have  "welfare 
managers"  whose  work  is  to  study  the  factory  and  its  employ- 
ees for  the  purpose  of  improving  the  working  and  leisure 
environments  of  the  workers.  £  Welfare  work  is  not  always 
appreciated  by  the  employees.  It  often  savors  of  paternalism ; 
and  it  has  probably  been  introduced  in  some  instances  for  the 
purpose  of  preventing  the  organization  of  the  employees,  or 
of  preventing  a  strike.  "Welfare  work,"  writes  Professor 
Commons,  "is  not  the  solution  of  the  labor  question  nor  the 
substitute  for  labor  organization.  It  is  part  of  the  labor 


210    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

movement  for  better  treatment,  better  conditions,  and  greater 
opportunities." 

Welfare  work  originated  as  a  form  of  humanitarianism  or 
paternalistic  philanthropy;  it  is  evolving  into  a  method  based 
upon  business  and  scientific  principles,  of  improving  the 
efficiency  of  the  working  force  of  an  establishment.  One  of 
the  most  recent  and  best  examples  of  up-to-date  welfare  work 
is  found  in  the  work  of  the  "  Department  of  Health  and 
Economics"  of  the  National  Electric  Light  Association.  Not 
only  does  this  department  expect  to  establish  reading  rooms, 
lunch  rooms,  and  the  like  in  connection  with  the  various 
factories  of  the  association,  but  a  careful  study  is  being  made 
of  the  effect  of  comfort  upon  the  efficiency  of  the  employees. 
For  example,  a  test  is  being  made  as  to  the  relation  of  ventila- 
tion to  efficiency.  Analyses  of  the  air  are  being  made,  and 
a  record  is  kept  of  the  output  and  breakage  of  individual 
workers.  Modern  devices  for  ventilating  factories  are  to  be 
introduced;  then  the  output  and  breakage  is  to  be  compared 
with  that  found  under  pre'sent  conditions.  It  is  believed  by 
the  Association's  experts  that  a  considerable  saving  in  expense 
will  be  effected.  This  is  a  purely  business  proposition;  but 
if  the  experiment  proves  conclusively  that  it  is  good  business 
to  improve  the  sanitary  conditions  in  certain  factories,  a 
powerful  concrete  argument  will  be  given  for  a  comfortable, 
inviting,  and  sanitary  working  environment  for  all  workers.1 

VII.  Cooperation.  Unlike  profit  sharing,  cooperation  in- 
volves a  fundamental  change  in  the  present  industrial  order. 
Profit  sharing  is  a  device  proposed  and  inaugurated  by  the 
employer  primarily  to  increase  his  own  profits,  and  to  enable 
him  to  cope  more  easily  with  his  competitors  or  to  reduce 
industrial  or  political  friction  and  opposition.  The  control 
of  the  business  remains  in  the  hands  of  the  capitalists  —  the 
employers.^  On  the  other  hand,  cooperation  places  the  busi- 

1  La  Follette's  Magazine,  February  4,  1911,  p.  10. 


INDUSTRIAL  REMUNERATION  21 1 

ness  in  the  hands  of  the  employees  or  the  consumers,  and 
sweeps^  the  employer  aside  as  a  useless  encumbrance.  The 
management  of  the  business  is  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  mana- 
ger or  superintendent  selected  by  the  employees.  Employer 
and  employee  are  merged  into  one. )  Cooperation  is  a  step 
in  the  industrial  sphere  similar  to  constitutional  government 
and  universal  suffrage  in  the  political  world.  Cooperation 
and  trade  unionism  are  both  essentially  working  class  move- 
ments. Both  aim  to  introduce  some  form  of  •  industrial 
democracy.  The  fundamental  ideals  of  the  former  have 
been  summarized  in  a  clear  and  concise  manner,  (a)  The 
control  of  the  business  ought  to  rest  in  the  hands  of  the 
workmen,  (b)  The  receipt  of  wages  is  inconsistent  with 
the  dignity  of  labor,  (c)  It  is  a  flagrant  injustice  to 
exclude  the  workmen  from  participating  in  the  profits  of 
the  business,  (d)  The  employer  is  unnecessary,  (e)  If  the 
profits  of  the  business  accrue  to  the  workers,  their  income 
will  be  appreciably  increased.1  f  Cooperative  enterprises  may 
be  divided  into  at  least  four  general  classes :  —  consumers' 
cooperation,  represented  by  the  cooperative  store;  distrib- 
utorsj^jcooperation,  of  which  the  grain  sellers'  cooperative 
elevator  is  an  example;  _crgcUt  cooperation,  represented  by 
the  building  and  loan  association;  and  producers'  coopera- 
tion, of  which  a  factory  operated  by  the  workmen  in  the 
plant  is  an  example.)  The  second  and  third  forms  are  usu- 
ally organized  and  controlled  by  others  than  wage  earners; 
and,  consequently,  need  only  be  brief!  vconsidered. 

Consumers'  Cooperation  in  England.!  The  first  practically 
successful  cooperative  stores  were  organized  in  Rochdale, 
England,  in  1844.  Other  movements,  however,  preceded  the 
attempts  of  the  "Rochdale  Society."/  Robert  Owen  was 
much  interested  in  the  movement.  According  to  the  late 
Professor  Frank  Parsons,  in  1830  there  were  250  cooperative 

1  Schloss,  Industrial  Remuneration,  p.  240. 


21 2     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

societies  in  England.  But  the  weavers  of  Rochdale  seem  to 
have  been  the  true  pioneers  in  this  important  movement. 
Since  1861  the  growth  of  consumers'  cooperation  has  been 
quite  remarkable.  During  the  period  of  forty  years,  1861- 
1901,  the  population  of  Great  Britain  increased  approximately 
43  per  cent.;  the  value  of  the  manufactured  products,  52  per 
cent.;  the  value  of  the  international  commerce,  130  per  cent.; 
and  the  consumers'  and  producers'  cooperative  business,  5,300 
per  cent;  or  from  £1,512,117  to  £81,782,949  in  1901.  In  1906 
the  value  of  the  sales  was  £97,937,757.  In  the  forty  years, 
the  membership  of  the  societies  is  reported  to  have  increased 
from  48,184  to  more  than  2,000,000.  In  1906  the  British 
Cooperative  Union  was  composed  of  2  wholesale  societies, 
1,448  retail  societies,  and  131  productive  societies.  About  413 
societies  out  of  the  total  of  i  ,448  were  engaged  in  cooperative 
housing  schemes.  The  societies  build  houses  and  rent  them 
to  their  members,  build  and  sell  houses  to  their  members, 
and  loan  money  to  their  members  for  the  purpose  of  building 
homes.1 

In  1906  the  British  cooperative  societies  expended  over 
£83,000  for  educational  purposes.  Some  societies  have  ex- 
tensive libraries;  classes  in  art,  science,  and  literature,  and 
lectures  upon  a  variety  of  subjects  are  conducted  under  the 
auspices  of  the  societies;  concerts,  entertainments,  and  ex- 
cursions are  arranged  for  the  members;  and  some  societies 
conduct  evening  continuation  schools.  The  wholesale  stores 
are  controlled  by  the  retail  stores.  The  profits  of  the  whole- 
sale stores  are  divided  among  the  retail  stores  just  as  the 
profits  of  the  latter  are  divided  among  the  individual  members. 
In  addition  to  the  131  separate  producers'  associations,  the 
wholesale  establishments  conduct  many  workshops,  own 
ocean  steamers,  and  possess  a  considerable  amount  of  real 
estate.  The  profits  of  the  factories  and  workshops  go  to 
1  Parsons,  The  Arena,  1903;  Gray,  The  Arena,  March,  1908. 


INDUSTRIAL    REMUNERATION  213 

swell  the  profits  of  the  wholesale  establishments.  Mr.  Gray 
of  Manchester,  England,  states  that  "in  all  workshops  and 
factories  belonging  to  the  wholesale  societies,  the  workers  are 
employed  under  the  best  conditions  as  regards  their  work- 
shops and  general  surroundings,  and  in  all  cases  enjoy  the 
standard  rate  of  wages  fixed  by  the  trade  union  for  their 
particular  industry,  and  in  some  cases  have  much  shorter 
hours  of  labor."  A  recent  writer  has  characterized  this 
English  union  of  cooperative  establishments  as  the  largest 
business  in  the  world.  "The  largest  business  concern  in  the 
world  —  which  supplies  the  food  and  clothing  of  at  least 
8,000,000  people,  which  manufactures  millions  of  dollars' 
worth  of  the  necessities  of  life,  which  has  plantations  in  Cey- 
lon, ships  on  the  sea,  and  purchasing  depots  from  the  Cana- 
dian Northwest  to  southeastern  Australia  —  has  never  been 
accused  of  raising  prices,  has  not  created  even  a  moderate  for- 
tune for  anybody,  has  not  a  single  officer  who  is  a  'magnate,' 
a  'captain  of  industry,'  or  even  a  'high  financier.'  It  has  no 
securities  on  the  market,  and  has  never  had  an  underwriting 
syndicate.  Yet  it  does  about  four  times  the  business  that 
the  United  States  Steel  Corporation  does,  and  does  it  more 
cheaply. "  l 

Consumers'  Cooperation  in  the  United  States.2  In  the 
United  States,  some  ephemeral  attempts  were  made  soon 
after  j  83 1,  by  theu^ew  England  Association  of  Farmers  and 
Mechanics,  to  organize  cooperative  stores.  J  The  life  of  these 
ventures  into  untried  fields  was  short.  During  that  unique 
period  of  the  forties  and  fifties,  characterized  by  an  extraordi- 
nary amount  of  social  and  political  ferment,  cooperative 
stores  were  organized  by  associations  of  farmers  and  mechan- 
ics. Many  stores,  possibly  as  many  as  seven  hundred,  were 

1  Wilson,  The  World's  Work.    October,  1910. 

*  The  source  chiefly  used  in  preparing  this  section  is  the  excellent  monograph 
on  "Cooperative  Stores,"  written  by  Prof.  Ira  B.  Cross. 


214    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

doing  business  at  one  time  in  the  early  fifties;  but  with  the 
opening  of  the  Civil  War  came  the  abrupt  termination  of  the 
movement.  In  the  last  years  of  the  war  there  was  much 
labor  agitation  and  discontent  among  the  workers,  and  some 
ephemeral  cooperative  stores  were  established.  Soon  after 
the  war  ended,  cooperative  associations  were  formed  in  con- 
nection with  certain  farmers'  organizations  and  some  labor 
unions. 

(The  Patrons  of  Husbandry,  popularly  known  as  the  Gran-,, 
gers,  established  many  cooperative  stores  in  the  early  seventies,/ 
In  1876  the  highest  officer  of  the  order  said:  —  "Hundreds, 
and  it  may  be,  thousands  of  cooperative  stores  have  been 
established  in  the  various  States  and  Territories  of  the 
Union  with  various  amounts  of  capital,  and  perhaps  as  va- 
rious in  other  features  and  in  their  fortunes."  At  one  time 
there  were  grange  stores  in  nearly  every  county  in  Ohio  and  in 
at  least  one-half  of  the  counties  of  Illinois.  "The  enthusi- 
asm of  the  Grangers  for  cooperation  gradually  died  away 
as  prosperity  followed  the  panic  of  1873,  and  with  the 
relaxation  which  usually  follows  the  rapid  growth  of  any 
organization." 

(Cooperation  was  a  basic  principle  of  the  Knights  of  Labor;  \ 
and  a  considerable  number  of  cooperative  stores  were  estab- 
lished during  the  period,  1881-1888,  under  the  auspices  of 
that  labor  organization.  During  the  latter  part  of  the  eighties, 
the  Farmers'  Alliance  was  active  in  "propagating  coopera- 
tive ideas  among  Southern  farmers."  Since  1890  sundry  co- 
operative unions  have  striven  to  promote  the  organization  of 
cooperative  stores.  In  1905  Mr.  Cross  found  343  coopera- 
tive stores  doing  business  in  the  United  States.  Of  this 
number,  68  were  located  in  California;  34  in  Kansas;  30  in 
Wisconsin;  26  in  Massachusetts;  and  22  in  Washington. 
"Judging  from  the  returns  received  from  170  of  these  estab- 
lishments the  above  343  stores  represent  an  estimated  capitali- 


INDUSTRIAL  REMUNERATION  215 

zation  of  $8,520,809.00,  a  membership  of  approximately  76,146 
persons,  and  a  trade  of  about  $265,526,743.00. 

\JThe  cooperative  movement  in  this  country  has  not  been 
notably  successful.  It  has  been  termed  an  "almost  utter 
failure."/ Mr.  Cross  presents  several  reasons  for  the  slow 
progress  of  cooperation  in  the  United  States,  (a)  Many  of 
the  cooperative  movements  grew  out  of  certain  farmers'  and 
workers'  movements;  and  both  movements  collapsed  together. 
(b)  The  cooperative  stores  have  not  been  well  organized.  Al- 
though they  have  met  bitter  opposition,  few  protective  asso- 
•ciations  have  been  formed.  One  cooperative  association  has 
known  little  about  the  status  of  other  associations.  Few 
state  or  national  conferences  have  been  held,  (c)  Until  re- 
cently no  cooperative  wholesale  houses  existed;  and  the  regu- 
lar wholesale  houses  discriminated  against  the  cooperative 
store.  In  1905  two  wholesale  houses  existed  which  operated 
on  the  cooperative  plan,  —  one  in  San  Francisco  and  one  in 
Chicago,  (d)  The  competition  of  five-  and  ten-cent  stores, 
department  stores,  mail  order  houses,  and  trading  stamp 
schemes,  has  ruined  many  cooperative  establishments,  (e) 
The  American  people  have  been  too  individualistic;  coopera- 
tion has  not  appealed  to  them.  Undoubtedly,  this  cause  of 
failure  is  losing  its  potency.  (/)  The  mobility  of  the  American 
people  has  militated  against  cooperative  associations,  (g) 
Americans  have  been  too  impetuous  and  impatient  of  slow 
gains  to  make  good  members  of  a  cooperative  association;  and 
"our  comparatively  high  standard  of  living  has  not  forced  us 
to  acquire  the  penny  saving  habit  so  common  among  the  Euro- 
peans." (ti)  Americans  desire  a  variety  of  food  and  of  cloth- 
ing. This  non-standardized  taste  makes  cooperation  difficult. 
Only  stores  with  a  considerable  amount  of  capital  can  suc- 
cessfully compete  when  it  is  necessary  to  carry  a  large  and 
varied  stock,  (i)  The  disdain  of  the  farmer  and  the  wage 
earner  for  expert  managerial  skill  has  caused  many  failures. 


216      HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED   LABOR 

A  man  taken  from  the  farm  or  out  of  the  shop  without  any 
business  experience  will  rarely  make  a  successful  manager  of 
a  cooperative  store.  "Poor  business  methods,  injudicious 
purchases,  over-stocking,  wastes  in  weighing,  and  many  other 
practices,  all  of  which  bring  disastrous  results,  are  very  prom- 
inent in  the  cooperative  movement." 

The  difference  between  the  ordinary  joint-stock  company 
and  a  cooperative  association  managing  a  store,  is  quite 
marked.  ^  In  the  cooperative  store,  a  fixed  rate  of  interest  is 
paid  upon  the  capital  stock;  the  remainder  of  the  profits  is 
distributed  to  the  purchasers  as  dividends.  J  As  a  rule,  the 
dividends  are  paid  only  to  the  purchasers  who  are  also  mem- 
bers of  the  association.  A  member  is  allowed  only  one  vote 
even  though  he  may  own  several  shares  of  stock;  and  voting 
by  proxy  is  usually  not  allowed.  As  a  rule,  goods  are  bought 
and  sold  for  cash.  The  sale  price  is  usually  the  ordinary 
market  price.  Members  receive  profits  in  proportion  to  the 
amount  of  their  purchases. 

Two  European  Experiments.  Two  cooperative  experiments 
of  Continental  Europe  are  worthy  of  notice  because  they  are 
indicative  of  important  tendencies  in  cooperative  enterprises. 
In  Vienna,  the  socialists  and  cooperative  industrialists  have 
started  one  of  the  largest  mills^jjicLkakeries  in  the  country, 
The  bakery  furnishes  the  bread  sold  by  a  string  of  cooperative 
stores;  it  also  sells  to  other  customers.  The  association  buys 
wheat  and  converts  it  into  bread.  About  50,000  loaves  are 
baked  daily.  The  latest  mechanical  devices  are  utilized;  the 
ovens  are  heated  by  gas,  and  the  machines  are  operated  by 
electricity.  Great  care  is  exercised  as  to  the  cleanliness  and 
wholesomeness  of  the  product,  and  as  to  the  health  of  the 
employees.  The  latter  work  in  three  shifts  of  eight  hours 
each. 

One  of  the  most  notable  cooperative  establishments  in  the 
world  is  the  "Cooperative  Society  of  Workers"  ofJBrussels. 


INDUSTRIAL    REMUNERATION  217 

This  organization  was  formed  in  1882  for  the  purpose  of  pro- 
ducing bread.  Its  original  capital  was  only  $120.  In  1909 
it  produced  over  10,000,000  loaves  of  breao^/  This  company 
has  built  the  famous  Maison  du  Peuple,  a  club-house  for 
workers  which  cost  $240,000.  "It  is  a  combination  club- 
house, cafe,  general  store,  and  office  building  for  the  labor 
movement  and  Socialist  and  cooperative  propaganda."  It 
is  a  social,  amusement,  and  educational  center  for  workingmen 
and  their  families.  This  cooperative  society  has  reduced  the 
price  of  bread,  and  it  has  given  honest  weight  and  a  pure  arti- 
cle. Many  other  articles  of  common  consumption  are  also 
sold  by  the  society,  —  coal  and  all  kinds  of  groceries.  Free 
medical  attendance  is  provided  for  members.  Dividends  are 
paid  every  six  months;  and  the  dividends  are  in  proportion 
to  the  amount  purchased.  The  employees  of  the  society 
select  several  members  of  the  board  of  managers.  Nearly 
every  Belgian  town  is  reported  to  possess  a  Maison  du  Peuple. 
In  1900  many  of  the  local  organizations  were  united  into  a 
cooperative  federation.1 

Distributors'  Cooperation.  In  this  class  are  found  such 
enterprises  as  cooperative  creameries,  cooperative  elevators 
for  the  grain  of  the  Western  farmer,  and  cooperative  associa- 
tions for  the  purpose  of  growing  and  marketing  raisins.  The 
cooperative  elevators  are  established  by  combinations  of 
farmers  in  order  to  cope  successfully  with  the  so-called  "grain- 
buyers'  trust."  The  California  Raisin  Growing  Associa- 
tion, formed  in  1898,  was  evidently  organized  to  control 
prices.  Every  member  of  the  association  is  required  to  sign 
a  contract  putting  the  management  of  his  raisin  crop  in  the 
hands  of  the  association.  The  raisins  are  to  be  packed  > and 
marketed  in  such  a  manner  as  seems  best  to  the  officers  of  the 
association.  Each  member  delivers  his  raisins  to  an  associa- 
tion packing  house.  An  inspector  of  the  association  weighs 
1  Howe,  The  Outlook,  March  26,  1910. 


218    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

them  and  credits  the  amount  to  the  grower.  In  1906  about 
ten  per  cent,  of  the  apples  grown  in  Canada  were  sold  through  a 
cooperative  association.  Such  associations  are  of  little  im- 
portance to  the  wage  earners.  They  are  examples  of  middle- 
class  cooperation. 

Credit  Cooperation.  (  Credit  cooperation  has  attained  its 
greatest  success  in  Germany  especially  among  the  farmers  of 
that  country/  Friedrich  Wilhelm  Raiffeison  was  the  origi- 
nator of  the  Cooperative  Credit  Associations  of  Germany. 
The  movement  started  about  the  middle  of  last  century.  In 
1907,  there  were  1^,600 ^societies  composed  of  over  two  million 
members.  By  means  of  these  associations  the  farmers, 
small  business  men,  and  the  wage  earners  are  enabled  to 
borrow  at  reasonable  rates  of  interest.  One  authority  on 
agricultural  conditions  in  Germany  declared  that  "the  Ger- 
man peasantry  were  saved  from  ruin  when  by  means  of 
cooperation  personal  credit  was  established."  The  wage 
earners,  however,  do  not  appear  to  have  profited  in  any  con- 
siderable degree  by  the  establishment  of  such  associations. 
But  the  farmers  have  been  saved  from  the  clutches  of  the 
astute  and  avaricious  money  lender. 

The  shares  in  these  associations  are  small.  No  individual 
is  allowed  to  own  more  than  one  share,  and  dividends  are 
limited  to  a  rate  not  higher  than  tEat  paid  on  money  loaned 
by  the  association.  Each  member  is  individually  liable  for 
all  the  debts  of  the  association;  but  in  actual  practice  this 
provision  has  worked  little  or  no  hardship  as  each  member 
is  led  to  take  a  personal  interest  in  the  matter  of  loans  and 
administration  of  the  affairs  of  the  association.  Men  of 
ability  are  placed  in  control,  and  a  rigid  system  of  supervision 
is  exercised.  Each  request  for  a  loan  is  followed  by  a  careful 
investigation  as  to  the  pecuniary  ability  of  the  individual 
desiring  the  loan,  as  to  the  security  offered,  and  as  to  the 
utility  of  the  probable  use  of  the  funds  desired.  The  careless, 


INDUSTRIAL    REMUNERATION  219 

shiftless,  and  improvident  will  be  refused  loans  while  the 
careful  and  thrifty  will  be  accommodated.  Speculation  is 
reduced  to  a  minimum. 

(^Building  and  Loan  Associations.  This  restricted  form  of 
credit  association  is  found  chiefly  in  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States.  It  is  used  almost  solely  to  aid  wage  earners 
and  small  salaried  workers  in  acquiring  a  home.  }  Small  sums 
of  money  are  collected  from  all  members  and  loaned  to  certain 
members  desirous  of  building  or  purchasing  a  home.  An 
appeal  is  made  to  the  pride  of  home  building  and  home  own- 
ing. The  typical  association  is  local  in  scope.  A  group  of 
people  living  in  a  city  or  town  agree  to  merge  their  savings 
in  a  fund  for  building  homes.  A  corporation  is  organized  in 
which  a  member  of  the  group  becomes  a  stockholder  to  the 
extent  of  one  or  more  shares.  A  share  in  a  Building  and  Loan 
Association  is  usually  valued  at  |2oo^  but  payments  may  be 
made  in  small  monthly  instalments.  Interest  is  allowed  upon 
the  sums  paid  in;  and  the  interest  thus  credited  reduces  the 
total  amount  of  the  payment.  The  money  collected  monthly 
is  loaned  to  members  to  be  used  to  build  or  purchase  homes 
under  the  supervision  of  the  officers  of  the  Association.  No 
sum  larger  than  the  face  value  of  the  shares  for  which  the 
member  has  subscribed  is  loaned.  The  property  is  held  as 
security  by  the  Association.  The  loan  is  usually  made  to  the 
one  who  offers  the  highest  premium  in  addition  to  the  cus- 
tomary rate  of  interest.  A  borrowing  member  pays  the 
interest  on  his  loan  and  the  monthly  instalment  on  the  share 
which  he  holds;  but  eventually  the  paid-up  stock  is  used  to 
cancel  the  debt.  The  following  table  presents  statistics  of 
the  building  and  loan  associations  of  the  United  States: 

Year  Number  of  Associations  Assets  Membership 

1895  5,973  $624,700,318 

1900  5,490  614,119,175 

1905  5,326  646,765,047  1,686,611 


220    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

Through  the  instrumentality  of  these  associations  many 
skilled  workers  and  salaried  men  have  become  real  estate 
owners,  thus  increasing  the  number  of  conservative  wage 
earners.  The  great  majority  of  workers  whose  wages  are 
small  are  not  affected  by  this  method  of  cooperation,  as  their 
wages  ^are  insufficient  to  allow  them  to  become  members. 
The  increasing  value  of  real  estate  and  the  increasing  cost  of 
building  material  are  factors  which  militate  against  the  system. 
The  insecurity  of  the  job  of  the  average  unskilled  or  semi- 
skilled worker  makes  him  hesitate  about  joining  a  Building 
and  Loan  Association.  Finally,  many  labor  unionists  be- 
lieve that  employers  will  take  advantage  of  the  home  owning 
employees,  and  will  lower,  or  refuse  to  increase,  their  wages. 
The  home  owning  employee  must  accept  the  situation  or 
move  and  perhaps  dispose  of  his  home  at  a  financial  sacrifice. 
The  Building  and  Loan  Association  offers  no  important  aid 
to  the  average,  member  of  a  labor  organization. 

Producers'  Cooperation.  In  the  pure  and  simple  form  of 
producers'  cooperation  a  number  of  workers  unite  to  operate 
a  productive  enterprise.  They  furnish  or  borrow  the  capital, 
and  elect  the  manager  of  the  business.  The  ultimate  control 
of  the  enterprise  rests  with  the  workers  not  with  the  owners 
of  capital.  Each  worker  is  allowed  one  vote;  and  all  workers 
in  the  establishment  are  admitted  to  membership.  Such  is 
producers'  cooperation  in  its  normal  condition.  Such  a 
system  is  theoretically  excellent;  it  appeals  to  the  idealist, 
actual  practice,  however,  producers'  cooperation  has  en- 
countered many  obstacles.  *) 

The  gilds  of  the  medieval  period  were  in  reality  forms  of 
producers'  cooperation.  The  employer  or  capitalist  function 
was  not  as  yet  differentiated  from  that  of  the  workmen. 
With  the  downfall  of  the  gild  system,  producers'  cooperation 
vanished.  The  first  isolated  example  of  a  cooperative  society 
of  producers  is  found  in  England  in  1777^  A  few  tailors  on  a 


INDUSTRIAL    REMUNERATION  221 

strike  formed  a  cooperative  association.  But  France  is  the 
realcradle  of,  produons*  cooperation.  (A  society  of  jewelers 
was  formed  in  1833,  a  decade  before  the  attempt  of  the  Roch- 
dale Pioneers.  The  revolutionary  disturbances  in  1848 
ushered  in  many  attempts  at  cooperative  activity.  The  gov- 
ernment loaned  money  to  certain  associations,  and  favored 
associated  groups  of  workmen  in  granting  public  contracts. 
This  movement  was  based  on  the  quicksands  of  enthusiasm 
and  sentimentality.  Failure  was  the  end  of  practically  all  of 
these  ephemeral  and  subsidized  ventures.  A  small  number  of 
these  associations  are  found  in  France  at  the  present  time. 
In  England,  a  few  associations  are  also  in  existence. 

In  the  United  States,  attempts  have  also  been  made  to 
establish  producers'  cooperative  establishments.  There  is 
reason  to  believe  that  in  T7jr-fi  cooperative  movement  was 
started  among  the  fishermen  of  New  England.  The  first 
well  authenticated  movement  was  that  of  some  tailors  in 
During  the  decade  of  the  eighties,  the 


Knights  of  Labor  were  responsible  for  the  organization  of 
many  cooperative  associations.  /The  most  famous  and  suc- 
cessful of  the  American  attempts  is  that  of  the  coopers  of 
Minneapolis.  The  first  endeavor  was  made  in  i868j  a  second 
venture  was  started  in  1.870,  These  were  failures.  A  third 
attempt  was  made  in  i874^and  an  association  was  formed 
which  is  still  doing  business.  In  1886  there  were  seven  co- 
operative companies;  in  1905,  only  three  of  these  survived. 
Other  companies  have  started  since  1886,  but  all  have  ceased 
to  do  business.  Two  out  of  four  private  cooperage  shops 
have  disappeared  since  1886.  The  cooperage  business  as  an 
adjunct  to  the  flouring  industry  of  Minneapolis  is  a  declining 
industry.  In  1890,  45  per  cent,  of  the  flour  was  packed  in 
barrels;  in  1905,  only  about  20  per  cent.  The  actual  number 
of  barrels  used  for  flour  is  not  increasing.  The  stationary 
condition  of  the  industry  is,  of  course,  not  favorable  to  the 


222     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

growth  and  prosperity  of  cooperative  establishments.  The 
assets  of  the  three  cooperative  companies  surviving  in  1905 
was,  however,  somewhat  greater  than  in  1886.  The  cooper- 
ative companies  hire  some  non-members;  and  evidences  may 
be  discerned  of  a  tendency  toward  joint-stockism.  The  organ- 
ization of  cooperative  establishments  among  the  Minneapolis 
coopers  has  given  greater  permanence  and  regularity  of  em- 
ployment to  the  membership  of  the  association;  it  has  im- 
proved and  strengthened  the  character  of  the  workers;  and  it 
has  proven  that  democratic  control  does  not  necessarily  in- 
volve dishonesty,  insubordination,  or  frequent  changes  in  the 
personnel  of  the  management.1 

The  longshoremen  have  utilized  producers'  cooperation  in 
a  simple  out  interesting  manner.  The  locals  have  divided 
their  members  into  gangs.  Each  gang  elects  its  own  foreman; 
and  the  union  distributes  the  work  among  the  gangs.  The 
foreman  collects  the  wages  for  the  entire  gang,  and  divides 
the  amount  equally  among  the  members,  himself  included. 
The  union  is  practically  a  contractor.  Loafing  is  corrected 
by  the  public  sentiment  of  the  gang,  as  it  is  to  the  interest  of 
the  gang  that  all  work  and  work  efficiently. 

It  is  difficult  for  manual  laborers  to  give  sufficient  weight 
to  managerial  ability.  Cooperating  workmen  are  usually 
loath  to  pay  sufficient  wages  to  secure  an  efficient  manager; 
nor  are  they  willing  to  give  him  sufficient  authority  in  the 
management  of  the  plant.  Industrial  democracy,  as  found  in 
producers'  cooperation,  has  thus  far  exhibited  the  faults  of 
early  political  democracy,  —  lack  of  emphasis  upon  experi- 
ence and  expertness,  frequent  changes  in  officials,  and  the 
like.  Up  to  the  present  time,  with  a  few  exceptions,  capi- 
talistic management  of  business  enterprises  has  proven  far 
more  successful  than  management  by  employees. 

Prosperous  producers'  cooperative  establishments  usuallv 
1  Virtue,  Quarterly  Journal  of  Economics.  Vol.  19:  527-544. 


INDUSTRIAL    REMUNERATION  223 

deliberately  sacrifice  the  fundamental  principles  of  cooperation 
by  refusing  to  admit  new  members  as  equal  associates.  The 
cooperative  society  tends  to  change  into  a  joint-stock  com- 
pany. In  1900  the  spectacle  makers  of  Paris  had  about  fifty 
members,  fifty  "adherents"  or  candidates  for  membership, 
and  1 200  paid  employees.  The  members  were  wealthy; 
and  the  society  was  in  reality  nothing  more  than  a  partner- 
ship or  a  joint-stock  company.  The  genuine  cooperative 
form  has  entirely  vanished.  Prosperity  and  the  desire  to 
keep  control  of  the  profits  led  to  the  breakdown  of  the  cooper- 
ative establishment.  A  cooperative  association  was  formed 
in  1QQ2  by  the  employees  in  the  polishing  and  plating  depart- 
ment of  the  Eastman  Kodak  Company.  This  association 
started  with  thirty-four  members.  The  control  of  the  business 
was  placed  in  the  hands  of  nine  directors.  Any  person  wish- 
ing to  withdraw  must  first  offer  his  interest  to  the  company. 
In  less  than  three  years,  the  number  of  cooperators  was 
reduced  to  five;  but  these  five  cooperators  were  hiring  men 
to  help  them.  "  Moreover,  an  open  shop  had  been  established, 
and  the  demands  of  the  local  union  were  declared  too  extreme 
to  be  considered."  The  thirty-four  men  who  organized  the 
society  were  union  men  in  1902.  This  experience  shows  how 
passing  from  the  status  of  employee  to  that  of  an  employer 
modules  the  point  of  view.  It  also  further  illustrates  the 
dangers  which  face  a  producers'  cooperative  association.1 
The  "Nations"  of  Antwerp  also  furnish  a  very  interesting 
instance  of  the  disastrous  effect  of  prosperity  upon  a  coopera- 
tive association  of  producers.  Practically  all  the  loading  and 
unloading  of  vessels  in  the  port  of  Antwerp  are  done  by  cooper- 
ative gangs  or  "nations. "  These  gangs  Were  originally  formed 
upon  a  purely  cooperative  basis.  Within  the  last  forty  or 
fifty  years  those  on  the  inside  have  refused  to  take  in  new 
members.  The  society  is  now  virtually  a  firm  of  well-to-do 
1  Adams  and  Sumner,  pp.  418-419. 


224    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

contractors,  and  the  characteristic  marks  of  a  sweating  system 
have  appeared. 

Difficulties  often  arise  because  of  the  lack  of  capital,  or  the 
inability  to  find  customers  in  the  face  of  fierce  competition 
from  non-cooperative  business.  Unless  the  work  is  practically 
of  a  uniform  character  it  is  difficult  to  make  a  satisfactory  di- 
vision of  profits.  Again,  when  losses  instead  of  profits  appear 
the  danger  of  disruption  is  not  small.  The  menace  is  a 
double  one.  ^When  successful,  a  producers'  cooperative 
society  is  in  danger  of  degenerating  into  a  joint-stock  com- 
pany; when  its  success  is  uncertain  and  profits  small,  disrup- 
tion is  almost  certain  to  follow.  ]  A  producers'  cooperative 
establishment  is  most  likely  to  be  successful  (a)  when  it  is 
operated  in  connection  with  a  consumers'  cooperative  estab- 
lishment, (6)  in  a  business  which  is  not  complex,  (c)  when  the 
importance  of  managerial  ability  is  not  great,  (d)  when  there 
is  little  difference  in  the  skill  required  of  the  various  workers, 
and  (e),  as  in^the  case  of  profit  sharing,  among  workers  who 
have  not  been  pushed  to  the  limit  of  their  productive  capacity. 

Conclusion.  The  cooperative  store  eliminates  certain 
wastes  in  the  competitive  field;  but  the  large  department 
store  accomplishes  the  same  results.  In  one  case,  the  con- 
sumers receive  a  larger  percentage  of  the  reduction  in  the 
cost  of  doing  business  than  in  the  other.  If,  however,  the 
reduction  in  the  cost  of  living  due  to  the  economies  resulting 
from  membership  in  a  consumers'  cooperative  association 
makes  possible  a  reduction  in  wages  or  prevents  an  increase 
in  wages,  consumers'  cooperation  may  be  of  little  or  no  real 
value  to  the  wage  earner.  And  if  wages  in  certain  industries 
are  to  be  fixed  in  the  future  by  means  of  a  careful  estimate  of 
the  cost  of  living,  made  by  wage  boards  or  boards  of  arbi- 
tration, the  value  of  cooperative  buying  to  the  wage  earner 
in  those  industries  is  problematical.  It  may  be  asserted  that, 
if  the  wage  earner  is  enabled  to  retain  the  profits  of  cob'pera- 


INDUSTRIAL    REMUNERATION  225 

live  buying,  consumers'  cooperation  must  be  accompanied 
by  strong  union  organization. 

Unless  consumers'  and  producers  cooperative  enterprises 
are  united  there  is  an  essential  element  of  antagonism  between 
these  two  forms  of  cooperative  endeavor.  The  former  seek- 
ing to  reduce  prices,  while  the  latter  is  interested  in  raising  the 
price  of  its  own  products.  Producers'  cooperative  associa- 
tions come  into  competition  with  each  other  in  the  same  way 
that  competition  arises  between  rival  non-cooperative  firms. 
Only  as  these  enterprises  become  nation-wide  is  the  element 
of  rivalry  and  competition  eliminated.  In  that  case  a  con- 
dition approximating  socialism  is  attained,  and  voluntary 
cooperation  would  pass  into  compulsory  cooperation.  Muni- 
cipal and  governmental  ownership  and  operation  are  forms  of 
cooperative  action  which  gives  greater  promise  of  success 
than  the  ordinary  varieties  of  voluntary  cooperation.  The 
benefits  to  be  derived  by  the  wage  earners  through  coopera- 
tive activity  "are  limited  by  the  possibilities  of  the  two 
varieties  of  cooperation,  the  one  which  gives  the  profits  to 
the  purchaser,  but  cannot  raise  wages,  and  the  other  which 
gives  the  profits  to  the  producer,  but  cannot  prevent  the 
action  of  cut- throat  competition."1  Cooperation  is  not  a 
substitute  for  trade  unionism.  If  used  in  conjunction  with 
trade-union  action  it  may  be  of  value  to  the  wage  earner;  but 
there  is  danger  of  weakening  trade  unionism  by  looking  con- 
stantly at  the  small  gains  to  be  derived  through  cooperation. 

REFERENCES  FOR  FURTHER  READING 

A  Fair  Wage 

Carlton,  "Modern  Medievalism,"  Popular  Science  Monthly.  Vol.  77: 
56-60. 

Ryan,  A  Living  Wage.    Section  2. 

1  Adams  and  Sumner,  p.  431. 


226    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

Progressive  Wage 

Schloss,  Industrial  Remuneration,  pp.  1-226. 

Gantt,  "The  Bonus  System  of  Rewarding  Labor,"  The  Review  oj 
Reviews,  September,  1902. 

Commons,  Trade  Unionism  and  Labor  Problems,  pp.  270-288. 

"The  Premium  Plan,"  American  Machinist,"  March  9,  1899. 

Benjamin,  "Review  of  the  Wage  Problem,"  Gassier' 's  Magazine. 
Vol.  26:  310-315. 

Abbott,  The  Outlook,  January  7,  1911. 

Commons,  American  Economic  Review,  September,  1911. 

Taylor,  The  Principles  of  Scientific  Management. 

Profit  Sharing 

Oilman,  Profit  Sharing. 

Schloss,  Industrial  Remuneration,  pp.  239-309. 

Adams  and  Sumner,  Labor  Problems.     Ch.  9. 

Hadley,  Economics.     Ch.  12. 

Bolen,  Getting  a  Living.     Ch.  5. 

Clark,  "Profit  Sharing,  Old  and  New,"  Harper's  Monthly.  Vol. 
no:  772-776. 

Cabot,  "An  Instance  of  Profit  Sharing,"  Review  of  Reviews.  Vol.  26: 
325-326. 

Wellman,  "Profit  Sharing  in  the  Steel  Corporation,"  Review  of 
Reviews.  Vol.  27:  326. 

Commons,  "Welfare  Work  in  a  Great  Industrial  Establishment," 
Review  of  Reviews,  July,  1903. 

Rayburn,  "Welfare  Work  from  the  Employee's  Standpoint,"  The 
Chautauquan.  Vol.  43:  332-334. 

Carlton,  "The  Golden-Rule  Factory,"  The  Arena.    Vol.  32:  408. 

Cooperation 

Cross,  "Cooperative  Stores,"  Report  of  t.he  Bureau  of  Labor  and 
Industrial  Statistics,  Wisconsin,  1906. 

Adams  and  Sumner,  Labor  Problems.     Ch.  10. 

Hadley,  Economics.     Ch.  12. 

Schloss,  Industrial  Remuneration,  pp.  310-365. 

Lockwood,  The  New  Harmony  Movement.     Ch.  21. 

Parsons,  "The  Rise  and  Progress  of  Cooperation  in  Europe,"  The 
Arena.  Vol.  30:  27—36. 

Monroe,  "Profit  Sharing  and  Cooperation,"  American  Journal  oj 
Sociology.  March-May,  1899.  Vol.  4. 


INDUSTRIAL    REMUNERATION  227 

Virtue,  "The  Cooperative  Coopers  of  Minneapolis,"  Quarterly  Journal 
of  Economics.  Vol.  19:  527-544. 

Gore,  "Nations  of  Antwerp,"  Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor.  No. 
17  (1898). 

Gide,  "Productive  Cooperation  in  France,"  Quarterly  Journal  of 
Economics.  Vol.  14:  30-66. 


CHAPTER  IX 

METHODS    OF    PROMOTING    INDUSTRIAL    PEACE 

ACCORDING  to  the  laissez  faire  philosophy,  wages,  hours,  and 
all  other  particulars  of  the  labor  contract  were  fixed  as  the 
result  of  a  bargain  between  the  employer  and  employee. 
Competition  automatically  determined  in  a  large  measure 
the  terms  of  the  bargain.  The  general  public  including  the 
consumers  of  the  products  made  by  the  wage  earners,  were 
little  concerned  as  to  the  settlement  of  any  differences  which 
might  arise  between  employer  and  his  employee.  Certain 
rules  of  the  competitive  game  were  promulgated  by  govern- 
mental authority.  Violence  and  the  destruction  of  property 
were  unlawful,  contracts  must  be  fulfilled,  and  any  interfer- 
ence with  the  freedom  of  competition  was  illegal  under  the 
common  law.  Beyond  these  regulations  the  laissez  faire  phi- 
losophy was  unwilling  to  allow  the  government  to  go.  As 
long  as  industries  were  small,  labor  unorganized  or  organized 
only  into  local  groups,  and  competition  was  a  live  and  efficient 
force,  the  "third  party"  or  the  general  public  could  accept 
without  great  reluctance  the  principles  of  the  let-alone  phi- 
losophy. If  a  single  individual  did  not  desire  to  accept  the 
conditions  imposed  by  his  employer,  he  stopped  work  and  his 
place  was  either  fiJled  immediately  by  another  or  left  tem- 
porarily vacant.  The  dissatisfied  man  sought  another  posi- 
tion in  a  competing  establishment.  If  a  dozen  workmen  in 
one  establishment  quarreled  with  their  employer  as  to  wages, 
and  if  a  strike  or  lockout  occurred,  only  a  minute  reduction 
of  the  total  supply  of  that  particular  product  would  follow. 
The  market  and  prices  would  not  be  noticeably  affected.  A 

228 


METHODS    OF    PROMOTING    INDUSTRIAL    PEACE      229 

labor  difficulty  was  only  of  local  import,  and  only  disturbed 
a  few  people.  Bargains  between  individual  employer  and 
their  employees  did  not  assume  such  proportions  as  to  call 
for  outside  aid  or  interference  of  any  sort,  and  the  issue  was 
not  of  sufficient  importance  to  attract  the  attention  of  the 
general  public  or  of  the  governmental  authorities.  Such  was 
the  condition  which  prevailed  in  the  industrial  world  before 
the  advent  of  organized  labor  and  of  large-scale  industry;  and 
such  are  the  conditions  which  still  prevail  where  labor  is  not 
well  organized  and  industry  is  still  small-scale  as  in  the  small 
retail  store. 

But  time  passes  and  industries  bulk  larger  and  larger.  The 
railway,  the  street  railway,  the  telegraph,  and  the  telephone 
come  to  be  business  necessities.  Powerful  unions  arise  among 
the  employees,  and  collective  bargaining  gradually  replaces 
the  individual  bargain  between  the  employer  and  the  em- 
ployee. A  labor  dispute  between  the  manager  and  the  em- 
ployees of  a  railway  system,  a  coal  mining  company,  or  a 
large  steel  industry  now  becomes  a  matter  of  national  import. 
A  switchmen's  strike  ties  up  a  railway;  many  towns  and 
thousands  of  individuals  are  threatened  with  a  scarcity  of 
food  and  fuel  in  the  middle  of  a  severe  winter.  Business 
establishments  are  forced  to  suspend  operations,  and  famine 
and  the  winter's  cold  threaten  hundreds  who  do  not  know 
the  switchmen  or  the  railway  officials.  The  outside  world 
is  no  longer  willing  to  wait  complacently  while  the  contestants 
fight  it  out  according  to  the  old  individualistic  rules  of  the 
game.  The  struggle  throws  the  mechanism  of  the  business 
world  out  of  gear;  it  affects  the  comfort  and  the  happiness  of 
hundreds  of  distant  homes.  Suddenly  public  sentiment 
crystallizes,  and  the  public  demands  in  no  uncertain  tones 
that  there  shall  be  no  stoppage  of  the  arteries  of  trade.  Trans- 
portation facilities,  fuel,  food,  and  other  supplies  are  needed. 
The  difficulty  must  be  adjusted  and  industrial  warfare  must 


230    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

end,  or  society  through  its  instrument,  the  government,  will 
interfere  in  order  to  compel  the  continuous  operation  of  a 
so-called  private  business.  The  increasing  intricacy  of  the 
modern  industrial  system  has  made  the  stoppage  of  business 
activities  a  far-reaching  and  serious  matter.  /New  theories 
of  govermental  powers  are  the  inevitable  consequences  of 
fundamental  economic  transformations.^ 

Improved  means  of  communication,  envision  of  labor,  and 
the  centralization  of  industry  have  made  men  interdependent; 
each  has  become  dependent  upon  the  work  of  others  living  in 
different  parts  of  the  country,  —  of  the  world,  in  fact.  As 
our  social  and  industrial  organism  has  become  more  and  more 
complex,  it  has  at  the  same  time  grown  more  and  more  sensi- 
tive to  the  improper  functioning  of  any  part  of  the  organism. 
A  strike  or  a  lockout  means  a  large  area  of  disturbance  and  of 
unsettled  conditions.  The  public  becomes  the  third  interested 
party.  Individuals  and  groups  of  individuals  can  no  longer 
be  allowed  to  carry  on  an  industrial  war.  Such  a  war  is  as 
destructive  of  economic  welfare  as  a  feud  is  of  civic  warfare. 
The  civilized  substitute  for  the  feud  is  the  law  court.  £,  The 
modern  alternative  for  industrial  warfare  in  the  great  indus- 
tries which  feed  the  arteries  of  the  business  world  is  some 
form  of  industrial  tribunal  using  arbitration,  conciliation,  or 
the  trade  agreement. )  The  evolution  of  a  system  of  industrial 
tribunals  involves  or  implies  the  right  of  the  public  through 
its  legally  constituted  authorities  to  investigate  in  the  case  of 
labor  disputes;  it  further  implies  the  right  to  publicity  in  the 
affairs  of  large-scale  businesses.  Here  is  a  very  distinct  en- 
croachment upon  the  old  well-defined  sphere  of  private  busi- 
ness. In  fact,  private  is  now  translated  by  many  thoughtful 
and  conservative  people  to  be  synonomous  with  semi-public. 

In  spite  of  the  nominal  adherence  given  to  the  laissez  faire 
theory,  interference  with  business  by  society  is  not  a  new  and 
unusual  phenomenon.  Law  and  order  modify  the  conditions 


METHODS    OF    PROMOTING    INDUSTRIAL    PEACE     231 

of  crude  "jungle"  competition.     The  enforcement  of  con- 
tracts, the  passage  of  protective  tariffs,  and  the  granting  of 
subsidies  are  familiar  acts  on  the  part  of  governments.  Bank- 
ers have  frequently  been  given  governmental  assistance  in  a 
time  of   panic.     Public   carriers,   inn-keepers,    and   cabmen 
/     have  long  been  subject  to  public  regulation.     Factory  legis- 
J      lation  dates  back  to  the  first  years  of  last  century.  (  Provisions 
\      for  compulsory  arbitration  or  for  compulsory  investigation 
\    and  publicity  in  the  case  of  a  serious  labor  dispute  only  carry 
Vthe  principle  of  governmental  interference  a  short  step  further. 
Vet,  many  people  fear  the  effect  of  compulsory  arbitration 
who  are  in  favor  of  protective  tariffs  and  ship  subsidies.  ) 

After  large-scale  and  integrated  industry  has  destroyed  the 
potency  of  competition  as  a  regulator  of  wages  and  prices, 
the  public  is  placed  in  a  position  of  dependency  if  private 
business  is  uncontrolled,  and  all  large  industries  become  ripe 
for  public  regulation  or  public  ownership.  The  railways  are 
now  generally  recognized  to  be  quasi-public  industries;  and  all 
large  businesses  producing  the  necessities  and  comforts  of  life 
are  rapidly  passing  into  the  same  category.  At  present,  two 
kinds  of  industry  are  quite  generally  recognized  as  ripe  for 
active  intervention  on  the  part  of  society :  — f  (a)  industries 

connected  with  the  public  utilities  such  as  railways  an3  coal 

*  -  j 

mines,  and  (6)  the  sweated  industries.  J  In  the  latter  case  the 
government  interferes  in  order  to  protect_ili£-consumers,  to 
protect  the  weaker  members  of  the  wage  earning  classes,  and 
to  prevent  racial  deterioration.  It  regulates  the  public  utilities 
in  order  to  prevent  serious  disturbances  in  the  business  world 
and  to  avert  suffering  and  hardship  on  the  part  of  the  con- 
sumers and  the  producers  of  various  necessities  of  life.  ^  There 
are  adequate  reasons  for  the  opinion  that  a  serious  railway 
strike  affecting  a  wide  area  is  unlawful  under  the  interstate 
commerce  acts  and  the  anti-trust  acts.1) 

1  Bolen,  Getting  A  Living,  p.  710,  foot-note. 


232     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

Definitions.  As  the  terms  conciliation,  arbitration,  and 
trade  agreements  are  given  slightly  different  significations  by 
different  writers,  it  seems  necessary  to  define  the  terms  before 
proceeding  to  a  consideration  of  the  practical  applications  of 
these  substitutes  for  industrial  warfare.  When  a  third  party 
*m  the  form  of  a  private  or  a  public  board  brings  employers 
and  employees  together  with  a  view  to  settling  some  dispute 
between  the  two  parties,  the  process  is  called  conciliation  or 
mediation.  Arbitration  implies  an  authoritative  board  or 
court  which  is  empowered  to  make  an  investigation  and  to 
settle  the  dispute.  The  suggestions  or  findings  of  a  board  of 
conciliation  may  or  may  not  be  accepted;  the  mandates  of  a 
board  of  arbitration  are  binding  upon  both  parties.  (  Arbitra- 
tion may  be  voluntary  or  compulsory,  and  primary  or  second- 
ary. )  Arbitration  is  voluntary  when  both  employers  and 
employees  agree  beforehand  to  accept  the  awards  of  the  board. 
Arbitration  is  compulsory  when  the  government  compels  the 
interested  parties  to  submit  the  case  to  the  board  and  to 
abide  by  its  findings.  /Arbitration  may,  however,  be  com- 
pulsory only  in  regard  to  the  submission  of  the  case;  the 
enforcement  of  the  award  is  then  left  to  the  force  of  public 
opinion.  According  to  Mr.  Oilman,  the  term,  compulsory 
arbitration,  is  a  misnomer.  "Legal  regulation"  is  the  term 
which  he  uses.  Primary  arbitration  signifies  fixing  the  terms 
of  the  labor  contract  by  an  authoritative  and  impartial  board. 
Wages,  hours,  and  various  incidental  matters  are  to  be  deter- 
mined by  the  board.  It  is  the  process  of  making  the  laws 
which  determines  the  relations  of  capital  to  labor  in  a  given 
industry.  Secondary  arbitration  is  purely  judicial.  The 
board  interprets  the  existing  rules  and  regulations  in  regard 
to  the  payment  of  wages  and  the  like. 

rade  agreements  are  compacts  in  regard  to  wages  and 
other  conditions  of  employment  made  by  joint  conferences 
attended  by  representatives  of  both  employers  and  employ- 


METHODS    OF    PROMOTING    INDUSTRIAL    PEACE      233 

ees.  The  joint  conference  system  is  a  methodical  type  of 
collective  bargaining.  Under  this  system  disagreements  are 
settled  "within  the  family";  the  general  public  is  not  repre- 
sented. In  the  system  of  conciliation,  the  "third  party" 
merely  intervenes  and  offers  its  services  in  bringing  the  parties 
together;  but  in  the  case  of  a  board  or  court  of  arbitration  the 
representatives  of  the  public  have  authority  to  adjust  differ- 
ences. (  Under  the  system  of  arbitration  the  right  of  the  public 
to  intervene  in  so-called  private  business  is  clearly  recognized.) 

Conciliation  and  Arbitration  in  the  United  States.1  The 
large  number  of  serious  strikes  in  the  eighties  led  President 
Cleveland  to  recommend  that  Congress  pass  legislation  pro- 
viding for  the  settlement  of  labor  disputes  which  threaten 
to  interfere  with  interstate  commerce.  ^A  law  was  passed  in 
1888  applying  to  disputes  between  transportation  companies 
engaged  in  interstate  commerce  and  the  employees  of  such 
companies./  Provision  was  made  for  the  organization  of  a 
temporary  board  of  arbitration  at  the  request  of  one  of  the 
parties  to  the  dispute,  provided  the  other  party  agreed.  The 
employers  were  to  choose  one  member,  the  employees  one, 
and  these  two  a  third  member.  This  board  could  subpoena 
witnesses  and  compel  the  introduction  of  material  relating  to 
the  labor  controversy.  The  board's  decision  was  to  be  pub- 
lished by  the  Commissioner  of  Labor.  The  award  was  not 
binding  upon  the  parties  concerned.  This  portion  of  the  act 
of  i888_jKas-4iever  used. 

The  President  was  given  power  to  appoint  two  commission- 
ers to  act  with  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  for  the  purpose  of 
investigating  any  labor  dispute  involving  corporations  en- 
gaged in  interstate  commerce.  This  investigating  board  also 
had  power  to  summon  witnesses  and  to  order  the  production 
of  papers.  The  decisions  and  recommendations  were  to 
be  made  public.  Such  an  investigating  commission  was 

1  The  chief  source  of  information  is  Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor.    No.  60. 


234    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

appointed  soon  after  the  end  of  the  Pullman  strike  of  1894. 
The  report  of  the  commission  urged  the  extension  of  a  system 
of  intervention  by  the  states,  and  the  modification  of  the 
federal  law. 

The  act  of  1898  was  a  tangible  result  of  the  work  of  the 
Pullman  investigating  commission.  This  act,  which  super- 
seded that  of  1888,  provides  only  for  arbitration  and  concilia- 
tion, not  for  investigation  and  publicity.  A  permanent  board 
of  conciliation  is  provided  for  all  disputes  involving  railways 
engaged  in  interstate  commerce.  The  chairman  of  the  Inter- 
state Commerce  Commission  and  the  Commissioner  of  Labor 
constitute  the  board.1  Under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  the 
permanent  board  may  only  offer  its  services  as  a  mediator 
upon  the  request  of  one  of  the  parties  to  the  dispute.  In  case 
of  failure  to  adjust  the  difficulty,  the  board  is  required  to 
propose  arbitration.  Provision  is  also  made  for  voluntary 
arbitration.  A  temporary  board  composed  of  three  members 
is  authorized.  The  employers  are  to  chose  one  member;  the 
employees,  one;  and  these  two,  a  third  member.  If  the  first 
two  members  cannot  agree  upon  the  third,  he  is  to  be  selected 
by  the  permanent  board  of  conciliation.  The  court  has  the 
same  powers  in  regard  to  procedure  as  were  provided  under 
the  act  of  1888,  but  definite  provisions  are  inserted  as  to  the 
enforcement  of  its  awards.  The  law  "requires  that  the  par- 
ties shall  bind  themselves  under  pain  of  liability  for  damages 
to  refrain  from  strike  or  lockout  pending  the  arbitration,  not 
to  evade  the  award  for  a  month  at  least  by  ceasing  to  hire  or 
be  employed,  and  if  work  and  employment  are  continued,  to 
fulfil  its  terms  for  a  year  and  the  award  is  made  enforceable 
as  the  judgment  of  a  United  States  Court." 2  Submission  can 
occur,  however,  only  with  the  voluntary  consent  of  both 

1  An   amendment  recently  passed,  provides  that  another  person  may  be 
selected  instead  of  the  chairman  of  the  Interstate   Commerce  Commission. 

2  Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor.     No.  60  :  576. 


METHODS    OF    PROMOTING    INDUSTRIAL    PEACE     235 

parties.  There  was  practically  no  mediation  or  arbitration 
under  the  terms  of  this  law,  commonly  known  as  the  Erd- 
man  Actr-«ntil  December,  1906.  Between  that  date  and 
April,  1911,  applications  were  made  in  over  fifty  contro- 
versies, and  in  ten  of  these  all  or  a  part  of  the  questions 
have  gone  to  arbitration  boards. 

In  January,  1905,  twenty-four  states  had  laws  upon  their 
statute  books  in  regard  to  conciliation  or  arbitration  in  the 
case  of  labor  disputes.  The  first  state  law  was  passed  by 
Maryland  in  1878;  New  Jersey  followed  in  1880.  A  Report 
of  the  Bureau  of  Labor  groups  these -.laws  into  four  classes: 
(i)  Local  arbitration  is  provided,  and  the  boards  are  tempo- 
rary in  character.  (2)  Permanent  local  boards  may  be  es- 
tablished by  private  parties.  (3)  The  State  Commissioners 
of  Labor  are  authorized  to  arbitrate  or  to  mediate.  (4) 
Special  state  boards  or  commissions  are  authorized. 

The  first-named  system  is  the  earliest  system  tried  in  the 
United  States.  The  laws  proved  to  be  of  no  practical  value. 
In  several  states  this  scheme  has  been  incorporated  in  the  law 
as  a  supplement  to  a  state  board;  but  in  those  states  the 
provision  has  also  proven  to  be  of  little  practical  importance. 
The  second  system  has  also  been  found  ineffectual.  In  only 
one  of  the  four  states  placing  laws  of  this  character  upon  their 
statute  books  did  any  tangible  results  follow.  In  Pennsyl- 
vania a  few  instances  of  successful  work  on  the  part  of  private 
boards  are  recorded.  The  success  of  the  third  system  in  five 
states  has  not  been  such  as  to  justify  an  extension  to  other 
states. 

No  less  than  seventeen  states  have  adopted  the  fourth  sys- 
tem providing  for  permanent  state~boards  for  the  purpose  of 
intervention  in  case  of  labor  disputes.  Massachusetts  and 
New  York  are  the  pioneers,  and  nearly  all  the  remaining 
states  using  this  system  have  copied  largely  from  the  laws  of 
these  two  states.  The  state  boards  are  usually  designated 


236     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

boards  of  conciliation  and  arbitration.  The  members  are 
almost  invariably  appointed  by  the  governor,  and  in  most 
states  are  confirmed  by  the  state  senate.  The  members  are 
three  in  number,  except  in  Louisiana  where  five  constitute 
the  board.  The  term  of  office  varies  from  one  to  four  years. 
The  requirement  is  frequently  made  that  one  member  must 
be  of  the  employing  class  and  one  of  the  laboring  class.  In 
several  states  the  third  member  must  be  a  "disinterested 
individual/'  "With  the  single  exception  of  California,  whose 
statute  says  nothing  upon  the  subject,  all  the  states  confer 
some  authority  upon  their  boards  for  the  purpose  of  securing 
evidence." 

In  only  eight  of  the  seventeen  states  have  the  activities 
of  the  boards  been  considerable.  These  states  are  New  York, 
Massachusetts,  New  Jersey,  Ohio,  Wisconsin,  Illinois,  In- 
diana, and  Missouri.  Three  kinds  of  action  can  be  taken  by 
the  boards  of  these  states,  -r-  conciliation,  arbitration,  and 
investigation.  I  In  New  York  the  state  has  the  right  to  inter- 
vene as  a  mediator  without  being  called  upon  by  either  party 
to  the  dispute.  In  fact,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  board  to  inter- 
vene when  it  has  knowledge  of  an  existing  or  a  threatened 
labor  dispute.  Arbitration  is  voluntary,  and  a  decision  is  not 
mandatory.  If  conciliation  fails  and  the  parties  involved  in 
the  controversy  refuse  to  arbitrate,  the  board  has  the  power 
to  make  a  public  investigation.  From  1886  to  190x3,  inclusive, 
the  New  York  board  settled  119  disputes.  Of  this  number 
97  were  settled  by  conciliation,  21  by  arbitration,  and  one  as 
the  result  of  a  public  investigation.  From  1901  to  1904  it 
intervened  in  85  cases  of  dispute.  Settlements  resulted  in 
29  cases.  In  only  one  case  was  arbitration  resorted  to;  the 
method  of  public  investigation  was  not  used  during  this 
period  of  four  years.  From  September,  1908,  to  February 
28,  1909,  the  board  intervened  in  31  cases  of  strikes  and  lock- 
outs. During  the  same  period  one  year  later,  37  cases  of 


METHODS    OF    PROMOTING    INDUSTRIAL    PEACE     237 

intervention  are  recorded.  Mediation,  not  arbitration  or  pub- 
lic investigation,  was  the  method  utilized  in  each  case.  The 
tendency  in  New  York  is  to  restrict  the  work  of  the  state 
board  to  one  function,  —  conciliation. 

The  Massachusetts  law  is  similar  to  that  of  New  York.  In 
Massachusetts  the  total  number  of  interventions  from  1886 
to  1904,  inclusive,  was  943.  Settlements  resulted  in  460 
cases.  Of  this  number,  229  were  settled  by  conciliation,  224 
by  arbitration,  4  by  decision  on  submission  of  one  party,  and 
3  by  means  of  a  public  investigation.  The  initiative  was 
taken  by  the  board  in  465  instances,  practically  one-half  of 
the  total  number  of  interventions.  Both  parties  united  in 
calling  upon  the  board  in  255  cases,  the  employer  in  only  69 
and  the  employees  in  154  cases.  The  record  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts board  is  encouraging. 

The  Anthracite  Coal  Strike  Commission.  CPerhaps  the  most 
important  and  spectacular  example  of  arbitration  in  the  case 
of  a  labor  dispute  in  this  country  was  the  settlement  of  the 
anthracite  coal  strike  of  1902. /  Nearly  all  the  anthracite 
coal  consumed  in  this  counTry~Ts  mined  within  a  small  area 
located  in  the  state  of  Pennsylvania.  The  strike  lasted  from 
May  12  to  October  23,  1902:  Practically  all  the  mine  workers, 
to  the  number  of  about  147,00x5,  quit  work  and  remained  idle 
during  the  entire  period.  While  the  actual  conflict  was  con- 
fined to  the  anthracite  region,  the  effects  of  the  long  strike 
were  felt  far  and  wide.  Actual  suffering  and  privation 
seemed  to  stare  in  the  face  many  citizens  scattered  through- 
out the  northern  portion  of  the  United  States.  Practically 
every  householder  in  the  North,  dwelling  in  towns  and  cities, 
felt  the  effects  of  this  strike.  Public  opinion  was  stirred  as 
perhaps  never  before  or  since  by  an  industrial  struggle;  old 
theories  and  beliefs,  venerable  with  age  and  supported  by 
the  dearest  of  American  traditions,  were  hastily  thrust  to  one 
side.  The  President  of  the  nation,  throwing  precedent,  red- 


238    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

tape,  and  legal  technicalities  to  the  winds,  saw  fit  to  use  his 
official  influence  in  bringing  the  combat  to  a  close,  and  in 
arranging  for  a  settlement  by  means  of  arbitration.  The 
rights  of  the  general  public  to  demand  the  uninterrupted 
mining  of  coal  received  substantial  recognition. 

On  October  16,  1902,  President  Roosevelt  appointed  the 
Anthracite  Coal  Strike  Commission.  The  mine  operators 
and  the  miners  agreed  in  advance  to  abide  by  the  decision  of 
the  Commission.  The  miners  went  back  to  work,  and  the 
Commission  made  a  very  careful  study  of  the  labor  situation 
in  the  anthracite  region.  Their  report  is  dated  March  18, 
1903.  The  miners  were  granted  an  increase  in  wages  of  ten 
per  cent  above  the  rate  paid  in  April,  1902.  Various  con- 
troverted matters,  such  as  the  employment  of  check  weighmen 
and  the  distribution  of  mine  cars,  were  considered  in  the 
award  of  the  Commission.  A  method  of  conciliation  was 
prqyjol£{i_niorder  to  settle  questions  pi  interpretation  of  the 
terms  of  jthe  award.  Strikes  and  lockouts  were  forbidden 
during  the  life  of  the  award,  but  the  right  to  discharge  work- 
men without  reference  to  the  board  of  conciliation  was  not 
taken  from  the  employer.  The  worker  lost  the  right  to  strike, 
but  the  employer  was  allowed  the  right  to  discharge  employ- 
ees with  or  without  adequate  cause.  This  clause  in  the 
award  militated  against  the  labor  organizations  in  the  district. 
The  right  to  strike  is  a  check  upon  the  arbitrary  use  of  the 
right  to  discharge.  The  award  provided  for  the  open  shop. 
According  to  its  provisions  no  person  should  be  discriminated 
against  because  of  membership  or  non-membership  in  a  labor 
organization.  The  life  of  the  award  was  three  years,  or  until 
March  31,  1906.  The  Commission  recommended  in  its 
report  that  the  President  be  given  authority  to  appoint  a 
commission  of  "compulsory  investigation"  whenever  a  labor 
controversy  arose  which  threatened  to  interfere  with  the  free 
movement  of  interstate  commerce.  The  chief  benefit  to  be 


METHODS    OF    PROMOTING    INDUSTRIAL    PEACE     239 

k  derived  from  compulsory  investigation  ("  lies  in  placing  the 
real  facts  and  the  responsibility  for  such  condition  authori- 
tatively before  the  people,  that  public  opinion  may  crystal- 
lize and  make  its  power  felt. "  J 

The  National  Civic  Federation.  An  important  private  asso- 
ciation devoted  to  the  promotion  of  industrial  peace  is  styled 
The  National  Civic  Federation.  The  Civic  Federation  was 
formed  in  January t  1901.  The  late  Senator  M.  A.  Hanna 
was  an  influential  member.  The  avowed  object  of  the  Federa- 
tion is  to  develop  cooperation  between  the  employers,  the 
employed,  and  the  general  public.  ^These  three  classes  are 
represented  on  the  executive  committee  of  the  organization.* 
The  employers  on  the  executive  committee  are  men  connected 
with  some  of  the  large  and  powerful  industries  of  the  country. 
In  1909  appeared  among  others  the  following  names:  Henry 
Phipps,  August  Belmont,  Clarence  Mackay,  Frank  A.  Van- 
derlip.  The  representatives  of  the  wage-earners  were  all 
drawn  from  the  more  conservative  class  of  labor  leaders.  In 
the  list  appears  the  names  of  Samuel  Gompers,  John  Mitchell, 
and  James  Duncan.  The  general  public  was  represented  in 
1909  by  President  Taft,  Senator  Root,  Andrew  Carnegie 
Seth  Low,  John  Hays  Hammond,  Nicholas  Murray  Butler, 
and  eleven  other  well-known  men  of  the  conservative  type. 

The  following  statement  of  its  aims  discloses  the  ideals  of 
the  leaders  of.  this  organization.  The  National  Civic  Federa- 
tion "would  show  that  the  twin  foes  of  industrial  peace  are 
the  anti-union  employers  and  the  socialists,  and  that  the 
former  are  unconsciously  promoting  that  class  hatred  which 
the  latter  boldly  advocates.  It  would  present  a  hopeful 
picture  of  future  harmony  between  labor  and  capital,  based 
upon  the  establishment  of  their  rightful  relations,  instead  of 
the  pessimistic  prophecy  of  the  degradation  of  labor  because 
of  its  exceptional  and  inexcusable  errors  or  crimes,  or  of  a 
social  revolution  provoked  by  capital  when  organized  for 


240    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

oppression." l  The  Civic  Federation  apparently  looks  forward 
to  a  time  when  labor  and  capital  shall  work  together  in  har- 
mony and  peace. 

Some  of  the  important  sub-committees  are  on  conciliation, 
trade  agreements,  public  ownership,  industrial  welfare,  in- 
dustrial insurance,  and  uniform  legislation.  The  first-named 
committee  has  aided  in  settling  a  number  of  important  labor 
controversies,  and  in  preventing  many  others.  John  Mitchell 
was  for  several  years  the  chairman  of  the  trade  agreement 
committee.2  The  official  organ  of  the  Federation  is  the 
[National  Civic  Federation  Review.) 

The  student  of  labor  problems  should  contrast  these  three 
radically  different  organizations:  (The  Citizens'  Industrial 
Association,  The  National  Civic  Federation,  and  the  Socialist 
party.  J  These  organizations  take  very  different  viewpoints  in 
considering  the  relations  which  exist  between  labor  and  capi- 
tal. The  first-named  association  stands  for  industrial  autoc- 
jff.cy.  Its  members  cherish  an  ideal  of  business  management 
which  smacks  of  medievalism.  Any  attempt  on  the  part  of 
organized  labor  or  of  the  general  public  to  obtain  a  voice 
in  business  management  and  control,  or  to  check  arbitrary 
action  on  the  part  of  the  employers,  is  vehemently  declared 
to  be  an  unwarranted  and  dangerous  interference  with  the 
natural  —  sacred  —  rights  of  property  and  of  human  liberty. 
They  complacently  view  capital  joining  with  capital  to  form 
corporations,  and  corporations  knitting  themselves  into 
employers'  associations,  but  a  virile  union  of  working  men  is 
loudly  proclaimed  to  be  a  menace  to  society.  The  union- 
smashing  employers'  associations  oppose  conciliation  and 
arbitration  in  labor  disputes.  "There  is  nothing  to  arbi- 

1  Bliss,  New  Encyclopedia  of  Social  Reform. 

2  In  1911  an  amendment  to  the  constitution  of  the  United  Mine  Workers 
was  adopted,  which  provided  that  members  may  not  belong  to  the  National 
Civic  Federation.     Mr.  Mitchell  withdrew  from  the  Federation. 


METHODS    OF    PROMOTING    INDUSTRIAL    PEACE     241 

trate."  "To  treat  with  criminals  in  the  compromise  of 
principles  that  are  cherished  as  inviolate  is  eternally  wrong. " 
Such  are  the  dictums  of  the  men  of  the  Citizens'  Industrial 
Association. 

The  National  Civic  Federation  is  more  progressive  and 
more  politic.  It  understands  that  combination  and  organiza- 
tion are  as  inevitable  among  workers  as  among  units  of  capi- 
tal. Its  members  would  recognize  the  union  and  treat  with 
the  latter  in  all  labor  disputes.  The  Civic  Federation  stands 
for  a  limited  industrial  monarchy.  The  employer  is  to  be 
checked  by  industrial  legislation  and  judicial  decisions  in 
the  form  of  trade  agreements,  conciliation,  and  arbitration. 
Compromise  with  labor  is  its  watchword.  The  socialists,  on 
the  other  hand,  are  strenuous  in  their  opposition  to  capitalists. 
They  are  the  industrial  democrats  of  a  radical  type.  The 
socialists  would  remove  the  capitalist  employer,  and  substi- 
tute for  him  a  manager  chosen  by  the  workers.  (The  socialists 
also  oppose  arbitration  because  it  interferes  with  the  sympa- 
thetic strike,  and  because  it  would  make  impossible  the 
resort  to  a  general  strike.)  One  socialist  paper  calls  the 
National  Civic  Federation  "the  most  infamous,  cancerous 
ulcer  which  has  been  inoculated  upon  the  trade-union  move- 
ment of  this  land." 

The  movement  headed  by  the  Citizens'  Industrial  Associa- 
tion is  confined  in  a  large  measure  to  the  smaller  capitalists. 
None  of  its  blatant  leaders  are  found  in  the  ranks  of  the  cap- 
tains of  industry  or  of  the  great  financiers  of  the  nation.  The 
program  of  these  radical  opponents  of  organized  labor  is  not 
looked  upon  favorably  by  many  of  the  abler  and  keener- 
visioned  business  leaders.  The  program  of  the  National 
Civic  Federation  appeals  to  the  latter.  Organized  labor  is  to 
be  recognized  but  its  radical  tendencies  are  to  be  discouraged. 
Our  far-seeing  industrial  and  financial  leaders  recognize  more 
or  less  clearly  that  the  day  of  militant  autocracy  in  industry 


242     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

is  past;  but  they  naturally  prefer  a  "benevolent  feudalism" 
to  industrial  democracy  in  any  form.1 

Advantages  and  Defects  of  Arbitration  and  Conciliation.  The 
resort  to  trade  agreements  or  to  arbitration  and  conciliation 
brings  employers  and  employees  into  closer  touch  with  each 
other.  Much  trouble  and  friction  in  industrial  circles  are 
caused  by  the  lack  of  sympathy  between  the  workers  and 
their  employers.  After  representatives  of  both  parties  are 
induced  to  gather  around  a  table  for  a  face  to  face  presenta- 
tion of  opinion  in  regard  to  the  controverted  matters,  a  long 
step  has  been  taken  toward  industrial  peace.  When  both 
sides  are  presented,  prejudice  and  preconceived  notions  often 
undergo  modification.  A  glimpse  of  the  other  man's  view- 
point is  often  illuminating,  educative,  and  fruitful  of  conces- 
sions. The  peaceful  method  of  determining  the  conditions  of 
employment  gives  stability  to  business  enterprises  because 
certain  elements  of  uncertainty  are  removed.  RCompulsory 
arbitration  tends  to  prevent  great  extremes  in  the  wage  Q  f 
scale;  and  monopolistic  action  on  the  part  of  powerful  unions 
of  skilled  men  is  difficult  under  a  system  of  compulsory 
arbitration.^}  The  strike  and  the  closed  shop  policy  frequently 
enable  certain  strong  unions  to  establish  a  higher  minimum 
wage  than  would  be  fixed  under  a  system  of  arbitration. 
f  Compulsory  arbitration  means  that  the  strike  and  the  boy- 
cott must  be  given  up.  The  loss  of  these  weapons  tends  to  r  , 
reduce  the  virility  of  the  unions.  Under  a  system  of  com- 
pulsory arbitration,  organized  labor  would  be  forced  into 
the  political  arena.l  Under  the  joint  conference  system,  the 
sympathetic  strike  must  also  be  given  up.  The  radicals  in 
the  ranks  of  organized  labor  object  to  this  system  and  to 
making  contracts  with  their  employers  because  by  so  doing 
they  forfeit  the  right  to  strike  at  what  seems  to  be  a  propi- 

1  See   The  National  Civic  Federation  Review,  November  15,   1909.     "The 
Two  Irreconciliable  Foes  of  the  Civic  Federation." 


METHODS  OF  PROMOTING  INDUSTRIAL  PEACE     243 

tious  moment.  The  joint  conference  system  neglects  the 
interests  of  the  general  public.  In  it  lies  the  possibility  of  a 
combined  monopoly  of  labor  and  capital.  Joint  agreements 
may  mean  higher  wages  linked  with  higher  prices.  Increases 
in  the  wage  rate  may  be  met  by  increases  in  the  price  of  the 
article  to  the  consumers;  and  monopoly  profits  may  even 
increase  as  wages  rise.  1  Both  sides  in  a  labor  controversy 
often  fear  the  outside  party  who  is  unacquainted  with  the 
particular  business.  A  preference  is  frequently  expressed  for  a 
form  of  agreement" within  the  family. " (Labor  fears  the  courts 
and,  therefore,  a  system  of  arbitration  involving  court  pro- 
ceedings. Judicial  decisions  emphasize  the  value  of  precedent; 
but  precedent  for  the  workers  means  slavery,  serfdom,  and 
the  sweating  system.  ]  Any  system  which  is  based  upon  custom 
or  precedent  is  inimical  to  a  class  which  is  struggling  upward. 
But  the  fundamental  defect  in  primary  arbitration  and  trade 
agreements  is  found  in  the/lq£k  of  any  definite  standard  for  Q 
determining  fair  wages  and  fair  prices.  1  Until  such  a  stand- 
ard can  be  established,  the  result  of  a  joint  conference  system, 
or  of  the  work  of  a  board  of  conciliation  or  of  arbitration, 
will  depend  in  no  small  measure  upon  the  relative  strength  and 
influence  of  the  parties  concerned  in  the  controversy.  No 
innate  harmony  of  interests  actually  obtains  under  the  present 

dustrial  system. 

Trade  Agreements.  Trade  agreements  as  to  wages,  hours, 
and  other  conditions  of  employment  are  made  in  conferences 
attended  by  representatives  of  both  employers  and  employees. 
The  system  presupposes  the  existence  of  some  form  of  labor 
organization  among  the  employees  and  an  organization  among 
employers.  Individual  bargaining  is  now  replaced  by  whole- 
sale or  collective  bargaining.  Instead  of  many  separate 
agreements  made  between  the  employer  and  each  workman,  a 

1  Clark,  "Monopoly  and  the  Struggle  of  Classes,"  Political  Science  Quarterly. 
Vol.  18  :  599  ff. 


244    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

single  agreement  is  made  which  fixes  during  the  life  of  the 
compact  the  conditions  of  employment  for  all  workers  in  the 
establishment,  or  at  least  all  within  a  given  grade  or  class. 
The  adoption  of  the  trade  agreement  system  does  not  mean 
that  the  employer  and  employees  have  accepted  any  idealistic 
theory  of  the  harmony  of  interests  between  labor  and  capital. 
A  peaceful  method  of  settling  disputes  as  to  wages,  hours, 
and  the  like  has  been  substituted  for  industrial  warfare. 
A  joint  conference  where  the  represeTTEttives"~of  both 
parties  bluff,  higgle,  and  compromise  takes  the  place  of 
the  strike  and  the  boycott.  Workmen  are  still  anxious  to 
increase  their  wages,  and  employers  are  eager  to  prevent 
such  increases,  but  both  are  desirous  of  bringing  about 
stable  and  calculable  conditions  in  the  business.  Both 
sides  are  trying  to  gain  an  advantage.  Each  side  under- 
stands the  situation;  but  a  cessation  of  work  means  no 
wages  and  usually  no  profits.  Self-interest  is  a  harmonizing 
as  well  as  an  antagonizing  force.  The  trade  agreement  has 
been  called  a  treaty  ofoeace  which  precludes  an  industrial 

V^^^^  ^g,  • —  X 

war  for  a  definite  period. 

The  first  recorded  case  of  a  successful  trade  agreement 
system  is  found  in  England  in  1860.  It  was  established  by 
A.  J.  Mundella,  a  manufacturer  of  Nottingham.1  In  America 
several  isolated  and  local  cases  of  trade  agreements  appear 
before  1885;  but  the  important  trade  agreement  systems  have 
originated  since  that  date.  Trade  agreements  are  now  made 
in  many  industries  and  locah'ties  of  the  United  States.  The 
New  York  Department  of  Labor  has  published  a  list  o£4o*fy- 
nine^  trade  agreements  entered  into  between  employers  and 
employees  in  that  state  during  the  fifteen  months  ending 
February  28,  1910.  In  the  list  are  found  molders,  railway 
engineers  and  firemen,  bakers,  carpenters,  garment  workers, 
and  street  railway  employees.  The  building  trades  of  New 

1  Adams  and  Sumner,  Labor  Problems,  p.  303. 


METHODS  OF  PROMOTING  INDUSTRIAL  PEACE     245 

York  City  are  governed  by  a  trade  agreement  system.     In 
England  the  system  is  highly  developed.1 

Trade  Agreements  in  the  New  York  Building  Trades.  Ac- 
cording to  the  plan  adopted,  the  closed  shop  principle  is  rec- 
ognized.,^  Conferences  are  attended n5y— representatives  of 
emglpyejsLassQciations  and  of  organized  labor;  and  the  em- 
ployers agree  to  employ  only  union  men.  The  trade  agreement 
is  supplemented  by  a  plan  of  arbitration  for  the  settlement 
of  disputes  arising  in  connection  with  the  interpretation  of  the 
provisions  of  the  trade  agreement.  The  original  plan  of 
arbitration  was  put  into  operation  in  1903;  it  was  modified 
and  improved  in  1905.  "The  General  Arbitration^ Board " 
is  composed  of  representatives  from  the  employers' associations 
and  from  the  trade  unions.  An  executive  committee  con- 
sisting of  six  board  members  representing  the  employers,  and 
six  representing  the  employees,  considers  and  passes  upon 
grievances.  The  findings  of  the  executive  committee  are 
final  unless  disapproved  by  the  General  Board.  In  that  event 
the  Board  considers  the  case.  Provision  is  also  made  for 
reference,  if  necessary,  of  cases  to  another  board  having  an 
umpire.  The  decision  of  this  board  or  of  its  umpire  is  final. 

The  enforcement  of  the  decrees  of  the  boards  of  arbitration 
rests  with  the  BuJldiag_Jrad es  Employers'  Association  on  one 
hand,  and  with  the  labor  organizations  on  thfe  other.  There 
is  no  unified  executive  authority  having  power  to  enforce  the 
awards  upon  either  party.  This  system  has  not  eliminated 
strikes,  but  the  resort  to  industrial  warfare  is  less  frequent 
than  before  the  adoption  of  this  plan. 

Trade  Agreements  in  the  Coal  Mining  Industry.  (A.  large 
percentage  of  the  soft  coal  miners  of  the  United  States  work 
under  a  joint  conference  agreement  as  to  wages  and  other 
conditions  of  employment.  An  annual  joint  conference,  at- 
tended by  the  representatives  of  labor  and  of  capital,  is  held. ) 
1  Oilman,  Methods  of  Industrial  Peace.  Chapter  II. 


246    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

At  a  recent  conference,  195  operators  and  450  miners  appeared 
as  delegates.  The  real  work  of  compromise  and  of  the  deter- 
mination of  the  wage  scale  is  done  by  a  small  committee,  but 
a  unanimous  vote  of  the  conference  is  necessary  before  any 
important  matter  can  be  settled.  An  agreement  is  usually 
reached,  because  both  sides  are  well  aware  of  the  momentous 
and  far-reaching  results  of  a  failure  to  arrive  at  a  settlement 
of  differences.  No  provision  is  made  for  reference  of  contro- 
verted points  to  outside  parties.  The  representatives  of  the 
miners  sit  on  one  side  of  the  house  and  those  of  the  mine  own- 
ers on  the  other.  Each  state  is  allowed  four  votes  on  each 
side.  The  meetings  are  usually  open  to  the  public. (  "This 
annual  interstate  conference  of  the  bituminous  coal  industry 
is  the  most  picturesque  and  inspiring  event  in  the  modern 
world  of  business. "  It  is  an  industrial  parliament  on  a  grand  1 
scale. 

Trade  Agreement  in  the  Stove  Industry.  [The  acme  of  the 
trade  agreement  system  and  collective  bargaining  has  been 
reached  in  the  stove  industry.  J  Certain  peculiarities  of  the 
stove  business  have  made  the  desirability  of  some  form  of 
collective  bargaining  very  apparent.  In  the  stove  industry, 
the  cost  of  labor  is  one  of  the  most  important  items  in  the 
total  expenses  of  production.  The  wages  paid  to  molders 
amount  to  from  40  to  50  per  cent,  of  the  entire  manufacturer's 
cost  of  the  product.  This  condition  tends  to  intensify  the 
effect  of  differences  between  employers  and  employees  as  to 
wages,  output,  apprentices,  etc.  And,  in  this  industry,  the 
costs  may  be  easily  estimated. 

From  the  time  of  the  first  recorded  strike  in  1855  to  the 
meeting  of  the  first  joint  conference  in  1891,  many  strikes 
occurred  in  this  industry.  Gradually  a  strong  union  organi- 
zation was  evolved.  Its  growth  was  paralleled  by  the  develop- 
ment of  an  association  among  the  employers.  These  two 
organizations  are  known  as  the  Iron  Molders'  Union  of 


METHODS  OF  PROMOTING  INDUSTRIAL  PEACE      247 

America  and  the  Stove  Founders'  National  Defense  Associa- 
tion, respectively.  An  important  strike  involving  many 
cities  and  establishments  occurred  in  1887.  Both  sides 
claimed  to  have  gained  a  victory;  but  each  learned  to  fear  the 
strength  of  the  other  side.  Soon  after,  negotiations  were 
entered  into  which  led  to  the  establishment  of  a  successful 
joint  conference  system,  and  to  the  systematic  and  peaceful 
settlement  of  controverted  questions.  The  development  of 
two  strong,  opposing,  fighting  organizations  made  for  peace. 
The  joint  conference  is  only  successful  when  the  two  opposing 
forces  are  strong,  well  organized,  and  nea.rly  evenly  balanced. 

The  first  conference,  held  in  1891,  adopted  the  following 
significant  preamble.  "Whereas,  there  has  heretofore  ex- 
isted a  sentiment  that  the  members  of  the  Stove  Founders' 
National  Defense  Association  and  the  members  of  the  Iron 
Holders'  Union  of  North  America  were  necessarily  enemies, 
and  in  consequence  a  mutual  dislike  and  distrust  of  each 
other  and  of  their  respective  organizations  has  arisen,  provok- 
ing and  stimulating  strife  and  ill-will,  resulting  in  severe  pecu- 
niary loss  to  both  parties:  Now,  this  conference  is  held  for 
the  purpose  of  cultivating  a  more  intimatej^nowledge  of  each 
other  and  of  their  methods,  aims,  and  objects,  believing  that 
thereby  friendly  regard  and  respect  maybe  engendered,  and 
such  agreements  reached  as  will  dispel  all  inimical  sentiments, 
prevent  further  strife,  and  promote  the  material  and  moral 
interests  of  all  parties  concerned." 

The"  conference  agreement  between  the  employers  and  the 
molders  in  the  stove  industry  provides  for  annual  conferences 
to  be  attended  by  representatives  of  employers  and  of  em- 
ployees. These  joint  conferences  are  purely  legislative  in 
character;  but  the  representatives  of  both  sides  come  with 
full  power  to  act  upon  wages  and  conditions  of  labor  within 
the  industry.  In  order  to  satisfactorily  settle  disputes,  the 
following  mechanism  is  provided.  "Whenever  there  is  a  dis- 


248    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

pute  between  a  member  of  the  S.  F.  N.  D.  A.  and  the  molders 
in  his  employ  (when  a  majority  of  the  latter  are  members  of 
the  I.  M.  U.),  and  it  cannot  be  settled  amicably  between  them, 
it  shall  be  referred  to  the  presidents  of  the  two  associations 
before  named,  who  shall  themselves  oiTby  delegates  give  it 
due  consideration.  If  they  cannot  decide  it  satisfactorily 
to  themselves,  they  may,  by  mutual  agreement,  summon  the 
conference  committee,  to  whom  decision  by  a  majority  vote 
shall  be  final,  and  binding  upon  each  party  for  the  term  of 
twelve  months.  Pending  adjudication  by  the  presidents  and 
conference  committee,  neither  party  to  the  dispute  shall 
discontinue  operations,  but  shall  proceed  with  business  in  the 
ordinary  manner.  .  .  .  No  vote  shall  be  taken  except  by  a 
full  committee  or  by  an  even  number  of  each  party." l  The 
significant  points  are:f(i)  this  method  shall  only  be  used  where 

• , — 

the  majority  of  the  employees  of  a  member  of  the  Defense 
Association  are  unionists;  (2)  strikes  or  lockouts  are  forbidden 
while  the  matter  is  under  consideration  by  the  presidents  or 
the  committee;  and  (3)  the  conference  committee,  which  is 
essentially  a  board  of  arbitration,  is  composed  of  an  equal 
number  of  employers  and  employees.  )  The  employers  stren- 
uously objected  to  the  use  of  outside  parties  who  were  un- 
familiar with  the  business;  and  experience  "has  indicated 
that  their  [employers']  judgment  was  sound  and  practical." 
In  case  a  member  of  the  Defense  Association  refuses  to  live  up 
to  the  agreement  he  will  be  dropped  from  membership,  and 
the  union  will  be  at  liberty  to  order  a  strike.  If  a  local  union 
refuses  to  abide  by  the  contract,  it  will  be  disciplined  by  the 
national  organization. 

The  methods  employed  in  the  stove  industry  seem  to  be 

the   culmination   of   purely   trade-union    action.     Prices    of 

stoves  and  wages  of  employees  are  fixed  by  means  of  the  joint 

conference  system.     Competition  as  to  prices  and  wages  is 

1  Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor.     No.  62:  148. 


METHODS  OF  PROMOTING  INDUSTRIAL  PEACE      249 

avoided.  Instead  of  appearing  under  the  form  of  price- 
cutting  and  wage-slashing,  competition  must  under  this 
system  be  raised  to  a  higher  plane;  it  takes  the  form  of  an 
attempt  to  produce  better  quality  of  goods  and  to  improve 
the  efficiency  of  labor.  Wages  are  determined  in  this  indus- 
try after  a  careful  statistical  study  of  the  cost  of  living,  and 
the  aim  is  to  place  all  members  of  the  Stove  Defense  Associa- 
tion on  a  competitive  level  in  regard  to  labor.  A  joint  con- 
ference system  carried  on  successfully  for  several  years  tends 
to  remove  the  speculative  element  from  the  business,  and  to 
promote  stability  and  system  within  the  industry.  But  each 
individual  firm  in  the  association  must  maintain  itself;  the 
weak  members  are  not  kept  in  the  business  as  is  the  case  in 
the  trust  form  of  organization. 

Joint  Conferences  as  Parliamentary  Bodies.  Professor  Com- 
mons has  pointed  out  the  resemblance  between  a  parliament 
and  the  trade  agreement  system.  The  English  Parliament 
with  its  House  of  Lords  and  House  of  Commons  has  evolved 
out  of  a  long  struggle  between  different  classes.  The  repre- 
sentatives of  the  employers  correspond  in  the  industrial  con- 
gress or  joint  conference  to  the  members  jof  the  upper-house ; 
the  union  delegates,  to  the  members  of  the  lower  house. 
Originally,  members  of  parliament  were  the  representatives 
of  property  interests.  Today  interest  representation  in  polit- 
ical affairs  is  masked  behind  the  theory  of  geographical  rep- 
resentation. In  a  joint  conference,  interest  representation 
is  openjind^ttncQncealed.  The  agreement  formulated  by  the 
conference  is  the  statute  law  of  the  industrial  congress.  Boards 
of  arbitration  to  settle  disputes  over  the  interpretation  of  the 
terms  of  the  agreement  correspond  to  the  judicial  system  in 
governmental  affairs.  No  common  executive  has  yet  been 
evolved.  Jurisdictional  struggles  may  be  compared  to  sec- 
tional and  racial  antagonisms  in  political  affairs.1 

1  Commons,  Review  of  Reviews.     Vol.  23:  328-329. 


250    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

The  Canadian  Industrial  Disputes  Act.  (.  This,  now  famous, 
act  became  a  law  in  March,  1907.  The  act  is  limited  in  its 
scope  to  public  utilities  and  mines.  \  Its  provisions  apply  to 
the  steam  and  electric  railways,  power  plants,  electric  and 
gas  plants,  and  similar  utilities,  and  to  metal  and  coal  mines. 
This  law  was  placed  upon  the  statute  books  soon  after  a 
serious  strike  had  occurred  in  the  coal  mines  of  southern 
Alberta.  Like  our  anthracite  strike  of  1902,  this  strike 
threatened  to  cut  off  the  supply  of  fuel.  The  Canadian  law 
does  not  aim  to  replace  collective  bargaining;  its  purpose  is 
to  supplement  that  system  and  make  it  workable.  The  law 
does  not  provide  for  compulsory  arbitration  and  settlement, 
but  depends  primarily  upon  the  pressure  of  a  public  informed 
as  to  the  merits  of  the  controversy,  to  end  industrial  warfare. 
It  is  intended  to  obtain  a  "maximum  of  concession  with  a 
minimum  of  compulsion."  The  right  of  employers  and  of 
employees  to  make  or  to  terminate  a  labor  contract  is  recog- 
nized. The  Canadian  act  clearly  affirms  the  right  of  the 
general  public  to  demand  uninterrupted  service  from  all  quasi- 
public  industries.  The  right  to  investigate  a  labor  dispute 
in  those  industries  and  to  make  public  the  facts  is  given  legal 
support. 

Whenever  a  dispute  arises  between  an  employer  and  his 
employees,  either  party  may  apply  to  the  Minister  ^of  Labor 
for  the  appointment  of  a  "board  of  conciliation  and  investi- 
gation." This  temporary  board  is  to  be  appointed  by  the 
Minister  of  Labor.  One  man  is  to  be  nominated  by  the 
employers  and  one  by  the  employees.  These  two  men  are  to 
select  the  third  member  of  the  board.  Each  committee  or 
board  is  to  deal  only  with  the  one  specific  dispute  for  which 
it  was  created.  After  its  work  is  done  and  its  report  com- 
pleted, the  board  disbands.  The  board  has  the  power  to 
summon  witnesses  and  to  compel  the  submission  of  pertinent 
material.  The  most  successful  boards  have  adopted  an  in- 


METHODS  OF  PROMOTING  INDUSTRIAL  PEACE      251 

formal  method  of  procedure.  Much  of  the  work  is  done  out- 
side the  regular  meetings  of  the  board.  Conciliation  is  the 
chief  end  in  view;  the  aim  is  to  obtain  concessions  until  the 
contending  parties  reach  an  agreement.  While  the  board  is 
considering  the  dispute,  a  strike  or  a  lockout  is  illegal;  and 
persons  responsible  for  ordering  a  strike  or  lockout  at  such 
a  time  may  be  punished.  It  is  questionable  whether  this 
clause  could  be  enforced  in  the  face  of  adverse  public  senti- 
ment. Thirty  days'  notice  is  required  for  any  proposed  change 
in  the  conditions  of  the  industry.  This  provision  allows  time 
for  reference  to  a  board;  but  no  penalty  is  attached  to  the 
violation  of  that  clause. 

If  the  parties  cannot  be  brought  into  agreement,  the  board 
is  authorized  to  make  public  its  findings  and  the  significant 
facts  in  connection  with  the  dispute.  A  strike  or  a  lockout 
may  then  be  lawfully  ordered;  but  the  public  has  definite 
knowledge  of  the  situation.  Public  opinion  is  in  reality  the 
court  of  last  appeal.  This  act  takes  away  from  the  workers 
in  the  industries  within  the  scope  of  the  act  the  right  to  strike 
at  an  auspicious  time.  It  will  often  prevent  the  workers 
from  taking  advantage  of  certain  favorable  opportunities  to 
market  their  product,  —  labor.  The  right  to  strike  at  an 
opportune  moment  is  considered  by  organized  labor  to  be 
highly  important.  The  employees  "ask  pertinently  enough 
whether,  assuming  labor  to  be  a  marketable  commodity,  the 
seller  of  any  other  commodity,  like  wheat  or  provisions  or 
coal  or  pig-iron,  would  care  to  accept  prices  prepared  for  him 
some  weeks  after  the  time  he  thought  most  favorable  for 
selling."  The  unions  which  have  adopted  the  trade  agree- 
ment system  have,  however,  voluntarily  given  up  this  right 
to  "hold-up"  their  employers.  This  right  cannot  be  vital  to 
successful  unionism  since  the  soft  coal  miners  and  the  stove 
molders  are  willing  to  agree  not  to  use  it. 

One  of  the  features  which  has  been  criticized  by  the  rep- 


252     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

resentatives  of  organized  labor  is  the  clause  which  requires 
that  before  a  board  can  be  organized,  the  workers  must  take 
action  which  leads  directly  to  the  initiation  of  an  industrial 
dispute.  They  must  decide  to  strike  before  the  occasion  arises 
which  makes  the  organization  of  a  board  possible.  Many 
labor  organizations  have  endorsed  the  principle  of  the  act, 
although  they  are  not  entirely  satisfied  with  all  the  features 
of  the  law.  "As  a  protective  enactment,"  writes  a  Canadian 
labor  leader,  "it  is*  of  little  value  to  labor.  After  all,  to 
have  any  status  before  the  boards,  labor  must  be  thoroughly 
organized  and  powerful  enough  to  command  attention." 
/"The  greatest  value,"  declares  Dr.  Victor  S.  Clark,  "of  the 
act  —  and  its  value  is  great  —  lies  in  its  providing  a  negotiat- 
ing rather  than  an  arbitrating  body,  and  in  thus  preventing  c* 
strikes  by  bringing  the  parties  to  a  voluntary  settlement,  and 
not  by  holding  over  them  any  sort  of  a  club  in  the  shape  of  a 
penalty  —  moral  or  otherwise  —  for  striking."  J) 

Unfortunately,  in  several  cases  the  law  has  been  evaded, 
and  unlawful  strikes  and  lockouts  have  taken  place.  In  one 
case  a  group  of  coal  miners  went  on  a  strike  in  defiance  of  the 
act  and  were  not  punished.  In  another  case  a  lockout  was 
ordered,  apparently  in  violation  of  the  provisions  of  the  act, 
and  again  no  punishment  was  meted  out  to  the  offender. 
The  law  requires  that  action  be  brought  by  the  other  party 
to  the  dispute;  in  case  the  other  party  refuses  to  start  what 
may  prove  to  be  expensive  litigation,  the  provisions  of  the  law 
against  strikes  and  lockouts  during  the  course  of  an  investi- 
gation are  not  enforced. 

(^  Considerable  opposition  to  the  act  has  been  manifested  by 
organized  labor,  particularly  among  the  miners.  The  opposi- 
tion is  also  strong  wherever  socialism  has  many  adherents) 
The  Western  Federation  of  Miners  and  the  United  Mine 
Workers'  Union,  both  of  which  have  affiliated  unions  in 
Canada,  are  opposed  to  the  act.  The  latter,  in  their  con- 


METHODS  OF  PROMOTING  INDUSTRIAL  PEACE      253 

vention  in  1909,  unanimously  adopted  a  resolution  which 
reads  in  part:  —  "Resolved,  That  we  emphatically  resent  any 
interference  with  our  right  to  quit  work,  and  will  in  no  wise 
tolerate  any  legislation  which  will  force  us  to  submit  our 
grievances  to  a  court  which  must  in  the  very  nature  of  the 
case  be  prejudiced  against  us,  if  we  can  prevent  it."  The 
miners  evidently  prefer  the  joint  conference  system  to  any 
system  of  arbitration. 

The  Canadian  act  gives  promise  of  being  a  valuable  piece 
of  legislation  for  reducing  the  number  of  labor  disputes  within 
a  narrow  industrial  field.  The  problems  connected  with  a 
minimum  wage  scale  and  with  the  sweated  industries  lie 
entirely  outside  the  scope  of  this  piece  of  legislation.  "The 
act,"  writes  Dr.  Clark,  "has  machinery  for  the  settling  of 
the  disputes  that  have  occurred  in  the  industries  to  which  it 
applies;  but  in  some  cases  it  has  postponed  rather  than  pre- 
vented strikes,  and  in  other  cases  strikers  have  defied  the  law 
with  impunity."  Proposals  have  been  made  for  the  enact- 
ment of  similar  legislation  in  the  United  States.  In  at  least 
two  state  legislatures  bills  modeled  after  the  Canadian  act 
have  been  introduced.  Organized  labor  will  probably  oppose 
the  adoption  of  such  legislation  because  (i)  it  will  interfere 
withjtheir  right  to  strike  whenever  the  workers  please;  (2)  it 
will  prevent  in  a  large  measure  the  use  of  the  sympathetic 
strike;  and  (3)  organized  labor  distrusts  governmental  inter- 
vention.^. 

The  Experience  of  New  Zealand  and  Australia.  Two  legal 
methods  have  been  used  in  Australia  for  settling  labor  dis- 
putes, —  by  means  of  courts  of  arbitration  and  by  means  of 
wage_bo_a_nls4.  The  former  method  was  first  used,  but  the 
latter  gives  promise  of  greater  usefulness.  The  system  of 
arbitration  was  established  primarily  to  prevent  strikes  and 
to  insure  the  uninterrupted  functioning  of  industrial  plants. 
(The  wage  boards  were  intended  to  eradicate  the  sweating  evil,  j 


254    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

In  actual  practice  the  latter  has  proven  to  be  merely  a  modi- 
fied system  of  arbitration.  New  Zealand  was  first  to  put  a 
compulsory  arbitration  act  upon  the  statute  books.  The 
original  law  was  passed  in  1894  and  has  been  modified  several 
times  since  that  date.  The  last  important  changes  were 
made  in  1908.  The  maritime  strike  of  1890  brought  the 
matter  of  labor  disputes  forcibly  before  the  country.  New 
Zealand's  economic  life  is  dependent  upon  shipping,  and  a 
strike  in  that  industry  paralyzed  the  business  of  the  island. 

The  administration  of  the  compulsory  arbitration  act  of 
New  Zealand  is  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Minister  jpf  Labor. 
The  island  is  divided  into  "industrial  districts."  In  each 
district  a  board  or  council  of  conciliation  is  appointed.  Such 
a  board  consists  of  a  chairman,  one  or  two  representatives  of 
registered  unions,  and  a  like  number  from  registered  employ- 
ers' associations.  Until  1908  the  chairman  was  "some 
impartial"  person  selected  by  the  other  members  of  the  board. 
Under  the  present  law,  the  chairman,  or  commissioner  of 
conciliation,  is  a  permanent  salaried  appointee  of  the  governor. 
One  is  chosen  for  each  district  for  a  term  of  three  years.  The 
court  of  arbitration  has  jurisdiction  over  the  entire  colony, 
and  consists  of  three  members  appointed  by*the  governor. 
One  is  chosen  from  nominations  made  by  registered  trade 
unions,  one  from  nominations  made  by  registered  employers' 
associations,  the  president  of  the  court  is  usually  one  of  the 
judges  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  island.  Unregistered 
organizations  of  wage  earners  have  no  legal  standing;  but  the 
court  may  extend  its  jurisdiction  over  unregistered  employ- 
ers. Fifteen  or  more  employees  may  form  a  union  and  be 
registered  under  the  act.  Either  party  to  the  dispute  may 
bring  the  matter  to  the  attention  of  a  board  of  conciliation 
or  the  court  of  arbitration.  Before  1901  disputes  were  usu- 
ally referred  first  to  a  board  of  conciliation.  This  board 
attempted  to  bring  about  a  settlement  of  the  difficulty.  As 


METHODS  OF  PROMOTING  INDUSTRIAL  PEACE     255 

a  rule,  however,  cases  were  carried  up  to  the  court  of  arbitra- 
tion. Out  of  156  cases  before  the  boards  of  conciliation  in  the 
period  1896-1901,  104  cases  were  taken  to  the  court  of  arbi- 
tration. An  amendment  in  1901  made  it  possible  for  either 
party  to  the  dispute  to  carry  the  matter  directly  to  the  court 
of  arbitration.  In  1906  only  two  cases  were  settled  by 
boards.  The  amendment  of  1908  increases  the  importance 
of  the  boards,  now  councils,  of  conciliation;  and  again  requires 
all  cases  to  be  first  presented  to  them.  Speedy  action  is 
provided  for;  and  in  case  the  parties  are  not  brought 
into  agreement,  the  findings  of  the  council,  as  in  Canada, 
are  to  be  made  public.  The  procedure  before  the  court 
of  arbitration  is  divested  of  the  technicalities  of  the  ordi- 
nary court  procedure;  but  it  has  the  usual  powers  of  a 
court.  It  can  compel  the  attendance  of  witnesses,  it  may 
gather  evidence  in  the  places  where  the  work  under  consid- 
eration is  performed,  and  it  may  compel  the  production  of 
books  and  papers. 

The  jurisdiction  of  the  court  extends  to  all  industries,  but 
is  restricted  to  disputes  involving  registered  associations. 
The  original  intent  of  the  law  was  to  encourage  the  formation 
of  unions,  but  the  registration  is  purely  voluntary.  The 
awards  of  the  court  are  not  only  binding  upon  the  parties  con- 
cerned in  the  particular  dispute,  but  may  be  extended  to 
other  persons.  The  award  may  be  extended  to  all  registered 
unions  and  to  all  employers  engaged  in  the  same  industry 
throughout  an  industrial  district  or  throughout  the  island,  — 
thus  equalizing  competitive  conditions.  Agreements  entered 
into  through  councils  of  conciliation  and  the  awards  of  the 
court  of  arbitration  are  to  remain  in  force  until  new  agree- 
ments are  concluded  or  new  awards  made,  unless  the  union 
cancels  its  registration.  In  such  an  event  the  life  of  the  award 
is  three  years.  After  an  application  has  been  made  for  the 
settlement  of  a  dispute,  strikes  and  lockouts  are  unlawful, 


256    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

but  if  neither  party  has  applied  for  a  settlement,  a  strike  or  a 
lockout  is  lawful  except  in  certain  industries  and  in  certain 
cases  where  a  strike  would  tie  up  "related  industries."  After 
an  award  has  been  made,  the  violation  of  its  provisions  is  a 
punishable  offense.  In  February,  1907,  a  strike  occurred  in 
the  meat  packing  industry.  The  matter  was  taken  up  in  the 
court,  and  each  striker  was  fined. 

The  legislation  of  1908  was  due  to  the  apparent  break- 
down of  the  law.  New  Zealand  was  no  longer  "a  country 
without  strikes."  Several  strikes  in  close  succession  were 
startling.  The  court  of  arbitration  was  overwhelmed  with 
cases  and  this  caused  long  delays.  The  striking  slaughtermen 
in  1908  gave  this  as  their  reason  for  striking.  The  men 
insisted  that  a  long  delay  would  be  fatal  to  their  prospects 
for  increased  wages.  New  legislation  was  demanded.  Advo- 
cates of  the  repeal  of  the  arbitration  act  were  not  lacking;  but 
"the  public  almost  to  a  man  —  and  to  a  woman  —  had  grown 
accustomed  to  the  appeal  to  law  for  the  settlement  of  these 
contracts  of  employment.  A  return  to  the  old  methods  of 
strikes  and  lockouts  would  have  received  no  more  support 
than  a  proposal  to  annul  the  statutes  against  burglary  because 
some  men  still  stole."1  Imprisonment  for  striking  unlaw- 
fully was  rejected,  but  punishment  by  fine  was  continued. 
Special  and  increased  penalties  are  to  be  imposed  in  the  case 
of  unlawful  strikes  and  lockouts  in  certain  public  utilities  and 
on  the  railways.  Fines  may  be  levied  not  to  exceed  $125  in 
the  case  of  an  employee,  and  $2,500  in  case  of  employers. 
These  penalties  are  inflicted  unless  at  least  fourteen  days' 
notice  is  given  of  the  intention  to  strike  or  to  lockout  employ- 
ees. The  registration  of  a  union  may  be  suspended  if  its 
members  strike  or  incite  a  strike.  Such  suspension  removes 
the  protection  of  the  law,  and  suspends  all  industrial  awards 
or  agreements  in  so  far  as  they  effect  the  suspended  union. 
1  Kennady,  Yale  Review.  Vol.  19:  44. 


METHODS  OF  PROMOTING  INDUSTRIAL  PEACE     257 

Also,  the  suspended  union  cannot  be  a  party  to  any  concilia- 
tion or  arbitration  proceedings. 

The  success  of  this  legislation  clearly  depends  upon  the 
attitude  of  organized  labor.  The  employer  can  be  brought 
under  the  provisions  of  the  law  against  his  wishes;  but  the 
wage  earners  may  escape  by  refusing  to  register  as  unions  or 
by  canceling  their  registration.  In  that  event  the  law  would 
be  a  dead  letter.  The  New  Zealand  courts  have  the  right  to 
order  the  employers  affected  by  an  award  to  give  preference 
to  union  men  when  hiring  new  employees;  and  it  may  require 
non-union  men  to  join  a  union  or  be  discharged  when  an 
award  goes  into  effect.  The  union  must,  however,  practi- 
cally remain  open  to  all  reputable  craftsmen  who  are  willing 
to  pay  moderate  fees.  Failure  to  observe  these  requirements 
will  cause  the  court  to  modify  rulings  which  are  favorable 
to  the  unions.  ("This  is  called  enforcing  the  closed  shop  and 
the  open  union."  /  The  union  men  assert  that  it  is  just  to 
give  preference  to  organized  labor.  If  the  courts  did  not 
follow  this  policy,  non-unionists  would  often  be  given  the 
preference  by  employers.  This  ruling  does  little  to  restrict 
the  choice  of  the  employer,  however,  because  all  capable  men 
may  join  the  union  and  thus  enter  his  employment.  As  the 
unions  and  the  labor  party  are  closely  connected,  this  policy 
seems  to  aid  in  increasing  the  financial  and  numerical  strength 
of  that  party. 

The  chief  functions  of  the  court  of  arbitration  are  legisla- 
tive rather  than  judicial.  The  original  intent  of  the  law  was 
to  prevent  strikes  and  lockouts;  but  the  courts  have  been 
used  to  fix  the  general  conditions  in  industry.  The  court 
may  fix  minimum  wages,  with  the  right,  under  prescribed 
conditions,  to  pay  less  to  the  aged  and  incompetent;  it  may 
regulate  the  hours  of  labor,  apprenticeship,  the  work  of 
women  and  children,  and  other  conditions  of  employment; 
and,  as  mentioned  above,  it  may  give  preference  to  union 


258    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

labor  and  spread  its  award  over  an  entire  industry.  /The 
essence  of  this  system  is  to  establish  a  standard  wage  and 


standard  requirements  in  an  industry,  j  What  is  frequently 
the  direct  result  of  union  activity  in  the  United  States  is  in 
New  Zealand  the  result  of  legislative  acts.  The  unions  of 
New  Zealand  must  inevitably  emphasize  political  activities 
rather  than  purely  economic  activities.  The  arbitration  act 
is  only  part  of  a  system  which  includes  old  age  pensions,  a 
compensation  act  for  injured  workmen,  reform  in  the  taxation 
of  land  values,  and  the  breaking  up  of  large  holdings  of  real 
estate.  The  arbitration  system  alone  does  not  give  the 
workers  an  opportunity  to  share  in  the  profits  of  a  monopolis- 
tic industry.  Wages  are  fixed  in  accordance  with  what  seems 
to  the  court  to  be  the  ruling  wage,  a  fair  wage,  or  a  living  wage. 
The  wage  rate  is  not  contingent  upon  the  profits  of  the  busi- 
ness. One  judge  has  intimated  that  the  court  has  allowed 
what  it  considered  the  men  might  have  obtained  without  a 
court.  No  scientific  or  systematic  method  of  determining 
wages  has  as  yet  been  worked  out  in  New  Zealand. 

In  1901  New  South  Wales  established  an  arbitration  court 
with  somewhat  more  extensive  authority  than  that  of  New 
Zealand.  The  awards  were  binding-  upon  those  who  were 
not  members  of  registered  unions.  "The  basic  principle  of 
the  act,"  declared  the  court  of  arbitration,  "is  continuity  of 
industrial  employment  and  operation  with  a  prohibition  .  .  . 
of  anything  in  the  nature  of  a  strike  or  a  lockout,  ..."  In 
1908  this  law  was  superseded  by  an  act  providing  for  wage 
boards.  Western  Australia  has  passed  a  compulsory  arbitra- 
tion modeled  after  the  New  Zealand  act.  The  commonwealth 
of  Australia  also  provided,  in  1904,  for  a  court  of  arbitration 
to  deal  with  industrial  disputes.  In  accord  with  constitutional 
limitations  this  act  only  applies  to  disputes  involving  indus- 
tries not  confined  to  one  state.  Strikes  and  lockouts  are 
absolutely  prohibited  under  penalty  of  one  thousand  pounds. 


METHODS  OF  PROMOTING  INDUSTRIAL  PEACE     259 

The  property  of  a  labor  organization  violating  this  law,  or  if 
necessary  of  its  members  up  to  ten  pounds  each,  may  be 
taken  in  payment  of  the  penalty. 

The  wage  board  as  a  preventive  of  strikes  and  as  a  method 
of  settling  labor  disputes  has  certain  marked  advantages  over 
the  older  method  by  means  of  a  court  of  arbitration.  As  a 
wage  board  is  established  for  each  industry,  fewer  cases  will 
come  before  each  board  than  came  before  the  single  court  of 
arbitration.  Less  delay  is,  therefore,  experienced  in  settling 
disputes.  The  members  of  a  wage  board  usually  have  some 
technical  and  first-hand  knowledge  of  the  industry.  The 
members  of  the  court  of  arbitration  dealing  with  many  indus- 
tries are  necessarily  handicapped  by  their  lack  of  intimate 
acquaintance  with  the  industry  under  consideration.  The 
New  South  Wales  statute  allows  appeals  from  the  wage  boards 
to  the  industrial  court  only  when  "errors  of  fact  or  judgment 
are  clearly  shown  to  have  vitiated  the  board's  decision,  or 
when  points  of  law  are  involved."  This  law  provides  that  a 
fine  of  one  thousand  pounds  and  imprisonment  for  two 
months  may  be  imposed  upon  any  person  engaged  in  a  strike 
or  even  instigating  a  strike.  In  1909  a  strike  occurred  in  the 
coal  mining  industry  of  the  colony.  The  police  were  author- 
ized to  break  up  meetings  called  for  strike  purposes,  and 
several  union  men  were  sentenced  to  imprisonment,  —  one 
man  for  one  year,  three  for  eight  months,  others  for  shorter 
terms.1  The  wage  board  system  originated  in  Victoria  as  a 
method  of  fixing  minimum  wages  in  certain  sweated  indus- 
tries. The  boards  merely  had  authority  to  prevent  an  em- 
ployer from  paying  less  than  a  "living  wage."  Strikes  were 
not  prohibited;  employees  were  at  liberty  to  attempt  to  force 
the  payment  of  higher  wages  than  the  minimum  fixed  by  the 
board.  In  New  South  Wales  the  wage  board  system  has 
become  a  method  of  securing  industrial  peace.  It  has  been 

1  Clark,  Quarterly  Journal  of  Economics.    Vol.  24:  561-563. 


260    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

transformed  from  an  anti-sweating  measure  to  a  system  of 
rigid  governmental  control  over  the  conditions  of  employment 
throughout  the  colony. 

Compulsory  arbitration  has  apparently  proven  to  be  a 
desirable  system  in  Australasia.  There  is  little  or  no  indica- 
tion up  to  the  present  time  of  any  recession  in  this  kind  of 
legislation.  The  workingmen  are,  however,  losing  some  of 
their  enthusiasm  for  compulsory  arbitration  in  New  Zealand. 
The  original  New  Zealand  act  was  passed  with  the  aid  of  the 
workers  and  apparently  for  their  benefit.  They  had  failed  in 
a  bitterly  contested  labor  dispute  with  a  powerful  corporation; 
and  they  soon  turned  to  political  activity  in  order  to  gain 
desired  concessions.  The  period  1894  to  1908  was  one 
of  prosperity.  The  early  awards  were  favorable  to  the 
workers;  but  later  awards  did  not  allow  all  of  the  stead- 
ily increasing  demands  of  the  wage  earners.  The  effect 
of  compulsory  arbitration  was  to  replace  in  a  measure 
contract  by  an  increasing  rigidity  of  status.  Finally,  in 
1906  the  workers  began  to  rebel  against  their  own  legis- 
lation and  several  strikes  followed.  The  radicals  who  wish 
to  modify  the  present  industrial  order  will  not,  of  course, 
be  satisfied  with  any  scheme  of  conciliation  and  arbitra- 
tion, the  fundamental  principle  of  which  is  the  acceptance 
of  that  order. 

Granting  that  the  system  has  been  successful  in  these  far- 
away lands,  the  conclusion  that  it  would  also  prove  successful 
in  the  United  States  need  not  necessarily  be  reached.  The 
system  was  introduced  into  Australasia  while  the  industrial 
system  "was  simple,  pliable,  and  adaptable";  and  that  coun- 
try has  not  received  a  conglomerate  horde  of  immigrants. 
Industrial  conditions,  legal  and  constitutional  forms,  and  the 
composition  of  the  population  in  the  United  States  are  so 
dissimilar  from  those  which  existed  in  Australasia  at  the  time 
the  compulsory  arbitration  system  was  adopted  that  the  value 


METHODS  OF  PROMOTING  INDUSTRIAL  PEACE      261 

of  the  latter's  experience  for  the  guidance  of  our  legislators 
is  minimized.  If  the  decisions  of  a  court  of  arbitration  or  of 
j&  wage  board  are  distasteful  to  a  large  body  of  workers,  it 
seems  extremely  doubtful  whether  coercion,  in  a  democracy, 
is  feasible  or  desirable.1 


REFERENCES  FOR  FURTHER  READING 

Mitchell,  Organized  Labor,  pp.  337-396. 

Gilman,  Methods  of  Industrial  Peace. 

Webb,  Industrial  Democracy.     Pt.  I,  Ch.  2. 

Report  of  the  Industrial  Commission.     Vols.  4,  7,  8,  9,  17,  19. 

"Conciliation  and  Arbitration,"  The  Annals.  Vol.  20.  Several 
articles. 

Adams  and  Sumner,  Labor  Problems.     Ch.  8. 

Commons,  "A  New  Way  of  Settling  Labor  Disputes,"  Review  of 
Reviews.  Vol.  23:  328-333. 

Commons,  The  Independent.     Vol.  56:  1440-1444. 

Hatch,  "Government  Industrial  Arbitration,"  Bulletin  of  the  Bureau 
of  Labor.  No.  60. 

"Report  of  the  Anthracite  Coal  Strike  Commission,"  Bulletin  of  the 
Bureau  of  Labor.  No.  46. 

Frey  and  Commons,  "Conciliation  in  the  Stove  Industry,"  Bulletin 
of  the  Bureau  of  Labor.  No.  62. 

Clark,  "The  Canadian  Industrial  Disputes  Act,"  Bulletin  of  the 
Bureau  of  Labor.  Nos.  76  and  86. 

Shortt,  ibid.,  American  Economic  Association  Quarterly.    April,  1909. 

Eliot,  ibid.,  McClure's  Magazine.     December,  1907. 

Fleet,  ibid.,  American  Federationist.     June,  1908. 

Edgar,  "Industrial  Disputes  in  Canada,  "Journal  of  Political  Economy. 
Vol.  16:  88-93. 

Bolen,  Getting  a  Living.     Ch.  27. 

Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor.  Nos.  51,  55,  and  56.  Various  trade 
agreements. 

Clark,  The  Labor  Movement  in  Australasia. 

Clark,  "Labor  Conditions  in  Australia  and  New  Zealand,"  Bulletin 
of  the  Bureau  of  Labor.  Nos.  49  and  56. 

1  For  a  description  of  the  wage  boards,  see  Chapter  XII. 


262     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

Kennady,  "Victorian  Wages  Boards  and  the  New  Zealand  Concilia- 
tion-Arbitration Act,"  Yale  Review.  Vol.  19:  32-54. 

LeRossignol,  and  Stewart,  "Compulsory  Arbitration  in  New  Zea- 
land," Quarterly  Journal  of  Economics.  Vol.  24:  660-712. 

Hobson,  " Compulsory  Arbitration,"  North  American  Review.  Vol.  175: 
597-606. 


A'1 


CHAPTER  X 

PROTECTIVE  LEGISLATION  FOR  EMPLOYEES 

Constitutional  Difficulties  in  the  United  States.  Labor  legis- 
lation in  the  United  States  meets  obstacles  peculiar  to  this 
country.  Our  system  of  written  constitutions  and  our  dual 
form  of  government,  dividing  responsibility  for  action  or 
inaction  between  the  federal  government  and  the  various  state 
governments,  introduce  many  complications.  Constitutional 
objections  and  state  jealousies  bulk  large  in  preventing  the 
•passage  of  statutes  protecting  wage  earners,  and  in  emascu- 
lating or  annulling  those  which  are  actually  placed  upon  the 
statute  books.  The  ideals  embedded  in  the  American  consti- 
tutional system  are  essentially  English  in  origin;  but  the 
student  must  not  overlook  the  fact  that  those  ideals  originated 
in  a  unique  epoch  in  the  history  of  English  political  philoso- 
phy. The  federal  constitution  was  formulated  and  adopted 
by  the  American  people  at  a  time  when  the  pendulum  swing  of 
sentiment  had  reached  a  maximum  in  favor  of^ion-interference 
on  the  part  of  government)with  the  conditions  of  industry. 

Under  the  gild  system  in  the  medieval  cities,  and  in  the 
developing  nations  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries 
under  the  mercantile  system,  industry  and  trade  had  been 
rigidly  and  minutely  regulated.  In  the  eighteenth  century, 
as  the  old  industrial  forms  broke  down  and  were  replaced  by 
those  which  may  be  called  modern,  the  pressure  against 
mercantilism  became  strong  and  finally  irresistible.  The 
restrictive  barriers  were  pushed  aside,  and  a  new  economic 
epoch  opened.  The  sudden  release  from  the  strong  and 
unyielding  bonds  of  custom  and  law  which  were  characteristic 

263 


264    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

of  feudalism  and  mercantilism  produced  the  inevitable  reac- 
tion.  ^The  new  slogans  were  non-interference,   freedom  of 
trade  and  of  contract,  and  competition  is  the  life  of  trade.) 
Individualism  and  the  "return  to  nature*'  were  placed  prom- 
inently in  the  foreground. 

The  individualism  of  the  period  conceived  that  external 
control  of  industrial  affairs  was  not  only  unnecessary  but  an 
actual  menace  to  economic  progress.  Each  and  every  indi- 
vidual was  to  be  left  free  to  work  when  and  where  he  pleased, 
or  to  hire  and  discharge  whomsoever  he  saw  fit.  Wages  and 
prices  should  be  fixed  as  the  result  of  free  and  untrammeled 
competition.  The  general  welfare  of  society  was  to  be  con- 
served by  allowing  each  individual  to  pursue  unhampered 
what  seemed  to  be  his  own  best  interests.  "  Enlightened 
self-interest  was  the  incentive,  universal  free  competition  was 
the  force"  which  held  economic  society  together  and  caused 
progress.  These  individualistic  ideals  sternly  opposed  all 
legislative  interference  with  freedom  of  contract  and  the  labor 
bargain,  and  considered  all  combinations  for  the  purpose  of 
affecting  prices  or  wages  to  be  inimical  to  the  public  welfare. 

But  the  individualism  of  the  eighteenth  century  and  of  the 
first  half  of  the  nineteenth  was  abnormal  and  one-sided.  It 
was  the  product  of  the  conditions  which  made  England  the 
world  leader  in  commerce  and  in  industry.  Earlier  centuries 
were  much  less  individualistic,  and  the  intricacy  and  inter- 
dependence of  modern  life  cause  greater  emphasis  to  be 
placed  upon  social  needs.  This  ultra-individualistic  epoch 
is  the  bridge  between  the  old  era  of  medieval  restriction  of 
the  aristocratic  and  paternalistic  type  which  fixed  maximum 
conditions  for  the  mass  of  the  workers  and  the  era  of  modern 
social  and  industrial  legislation  of  the  democratic  type  which 
aims  at  fixing  minimum  conditions  in  industry.  The  feudal 
idea  was  to  keep  men  and  women  of  the  lower  classes  in  their 
places  and  to  ameliorate  the  conditions  within  their  particular 


PROTECTIVE  LEGISLATION  FOR  EMPLOYEES       265 

social  compartment;  the  modern  democratic  ideal  is  to  re- 
move the  artificial  obstacles  which  tend  to  perpetuate  social 
and  economic  inequalities,  and  to  give  each  individual  an 
opportunity  to  help  himself.  Opportunity  for  each  and  for 
all,  not  paternalism  or  philanthropy  on  the  part  of  a  few,  is 
the  aim  of  modern  industrial  legislation. 

The  exaggeration  of  the  non-interference  system  and  the 
glorification  of  the  ideal  of  negative  liberty  was  due  to  the 
enthusiasm  and  the  hopes  of  a  strong  and  aggressive  class  of 
English  merchants  and  industrialists  who  were  at  that  time 
leading  the  world  in  commerce  and  industry.  To  cut  the  old 
medieval  bonds  which  favored  "well  ordered"  trade  and 
"fair"  prices,  signified  progress,  freedom,  and  wealth  getting 
to  shrewd  men  conscious  of  their  superior  strength  and 
ability.  They  were  eager  to  play  the  fascinating  commercial 
game  without  harassing  rules.  Just  at  the  flood-tide  of  this 
reaction  against  medievalism  and  mercantilism,  and  before 
the  evils  of  unrestrained  competition  and  of  unregulated 
industry  became  apparent,  the  American  nation  was  formed 
and  the  American  people  adopted  written  federal  and  state 
constitutions. 

(jTo  the  Americans  of  the  last  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
familiar  with  the  harassing  restrictions  imposed  by  the 
English  governors  and  proprietors,  and  accustomed  to  the 
self-reliant  life  of  the  frontiersman  and  primitive  agricultural- 
ist, any  system  of  constitutional  or  of  statute  law  which 
allowed  the  imposition  of  restraints  in  regard  to  the  disposal 
of  property  or  of  labor  power  seemed  to  contain  elements  of 
tyranny.^  Their  past  experience  on  this  continent  and  in 
England  wrought  into  the  very  fiber  of  their  being  a  distrust 
of  a  military  chieftain  and  of  an  overlord  of  the  semi-feudal 
type.  The  environment  and  past  experience  of  the  American 
pioneer  naturally  led  him  to  accept  the  laissez  faire  doctrine 
with  extraordinary  avidity  and  enthusiasm^  and  Tie  exhibited 


266    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

his  extreme  confidence  in  the  universal  and  perpetual  validity 
and  desirability  of  that  system  by  crystallizing  into  bills 
of  rights  and  rigid  constitutional  forms  these  principles  of  an 
exceptional  or  unique  epoch  in  the  world's  history.  And  this 
crystallization  occurred  at  the  very  threshold  of  an  era  in 
which  the  fundamental  postulates  of  the  non-interference  and 
decentralized  system  of  governmental  control  were  being 
consigned  to  the  scrap-heap  by  the  uplift  of  a  new  industrial 
system.  At  the  very  time  when  a  weak  and  growing  wage 
earning  class  needed  protecting  legislation  to  guard  it  from 
the  aggressions  of  the  economically  stronger  employing  class, 
the  laissez  Jaire  philosophy  was  invoked  to  prevent  the  erection 
of  adequate  protecting  barriers.  ^Sailing  under  the  motto  of 
liberty  and  freedom,  the  laissez  faire  philosophy  is  favorable 
to  the  interests  of  the  economically  strong,  and  inimical  to  the 
interests  of  the  economically  weak.J 

According  to  the  laissez  faire  theory  unrestrained  compe- 
tition would  automatically  lead  to  fair  wages,  fair  prices,  and 
decent  conditions  of  working  and  living;  and  legislative 
interference  in  regard  to  the  relations  between  labor  and 
capital  was  held  to  be  unwise  and  unnecessary.  (This  individ- 
ualistic theory  may  not  have  been  very  unjust  or  wide  of  the 
mark  in  a  country  of  undeveloped  resources,  small  businesses, 
and  local  markets.  yThe  employer  and  employed  of  a  century 
ago  were  closely  in  touch  with  each  other  both  during  and 
after  the  working  day;  and  the  producer  and  consumer  were 
acquainted  with  each  other.  In  our  early  national  history 
the  theory  of  non-interference  may  have  been  carried  to  an 
extreme  even  for  that  day  and  generation;  but,  if  so,  it 
was  a  natural  reaction  from  the  oppression  of  colonial  trade 
restriction. 

Since  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  the  federal  constitution 
industrial  conditions  have  undergone  revolutionary  transfor- 
mations which  have  greatly  modified  the  relations  between 


PROTECTIVE  LEGISLATION  FOR  EMPLOYEES       267 

the  employer  and  the  employee,  and  between  producer  and 
consumer.  Large  business  combinations,  the  disappearance 
of  free  land,  the  growth  of  world-wide  markets,  and  the  use  of 
minute  subdivision  of  labor  have  produced  conditions  such 
that  competition  is  no  longer  adequate  to  insure  proper 
working  conditions  in  industry,  or  proper  composition  of 
products.  Trade-union  and  legislative  action  must  now  be 
resorted  to  in  order  to  accomplish  what  in  a  simpler  industrial 
order  may  have  been  fairly  well  brought  about  by  competition. 
But  the  legal  rules  and  formulae  applicable  to  a  crude  indus- 
trial society  are  still  applied  in  this  country.  Of  course, 
these  principles  have  not  remained  unchanged.  Legal  inter- 
pretation of  the  constitution  and  of  the  common  law  has 
slowly  modified  as  the  years  have  rolled  by.  Today  it  would 
be  difficult  for  one  of  the  members  of  the  Constitutional 
Convention  of  1787  to  understand  our  interpretation  of  cer- 
tain important  sections  of  the  constitution.  Social  and  eco- 
nomic adjustments  have  been  so  obvious  and  so  striking  that 
many  laws  affecting  the  condition  of  employment  now  pass 
the  constitutional  test  which  only  a  few  years  ago  would 
have  been  summarily  rejected.  Nevertheless,  it  is  true  that 
we  of  the  twentieth  century  are  still  controlled  by  the  ideals 
generated  at  the  time  of  an  enthusiastic  reaction  from  the 
regulations  imposed  by  medievalism  and  mercantilism.  It 
has  come  to  pass  that  a  legal  doctrine  and  a  social  ethic  which 
were  especially  acceptable  to  a  frontier  people  who  had  been 
harassed  in  colonial  times  by  England's  restrictive  policy, 
through  incorporation  into  the  federal  and  state  constitutions 
have  continued  as  potent  and  compelling  forces  long  after 
their  advocacy  has  been  given  up  by  the  majority  of  the 
people  of  the  nation. 

What  is  Liberty?  The  older  view  of  liberty  was  purely 
negative;  the  concept  which  is  gradually  winning  favor  is  a 
positive  one.  According  to  the  older  idea  liberty  consisted 


268    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR   - 

fin  the  absence  of  restraints;  I  the  savage,  unhampered  by  the 
legal  restraints,  social  conventions,  and  ethical  imperatives  of 
modern  life,  was  a  free  man  par  excellence.  Liberty  in  its 
negative  aspect  is  like  a  geometrical  area,  and  every  law 
restraining  the  individual  in  any  manner  signifies  a  reduction 
in  the  extent  of  this  area.  The  modern  positive  view  con- 
ceives of  libertyfas  thriving  in  the  presence  of  law.1  Laws 
regulating  the  mutual  relations  between  individuals  of  various 
classes  and  interests  may  increase  liberty,  instead  of  inter- 
fering with  the  rights  and  privileges  of  men.  The  savage  or 
the  solitary  frontiersmen  may  rationally  cherish  the  negative 
ideal  of  liberty,  but  the  member  of  a  modern  crowded  and 
interdependent  industrial  nation  finds  that  the  negative  type 
of  liberty  leads  to  the  coercion  of  the  weak  by  the  strong. 
Negative  liberty  carried  to  its  logical  extreme  leads  to  anarchy. 
Liberty  does  not  mean  the  same  today  that  it  did  yesterday, 
and  tomorrow's  interpretation  will  be  made  in  the  light  of 
tomorrow's  industrial  and  social  conditions. 

Men  often  overlook  the  fact  .that  there  are  two  important 
kinds  of  restraint  placed  upon  individuals  living  in  a  civilized 
community,  —  economic  and  legal.  Individual  liberty,  or  the 
freedom  of  an  individual  from  restraint,  may  often  be  increased 
by  adding  certain  legal  restraints,  thereby  reducing  the  power 
of  certain  economic  restraints.  The  sum  total  of  restraint 
may  be  decreased  by  adding  to  legal  restraints  which  remove 
economic  restraints.  /Many  American  judges  seem  rarely 
able  to  comprehend  the  simple  fact  -that  the  addition  of  legal 

*  restraints  may  increase  actual  and  concrete  freedom  of  actionA 
As  an  example,  consider  the  law  fixing  the  maximum  number  of 
hours  per  day  during  which  women  wage  earners  may  be  em- 
ployed in  factories.  Manifestly  such  a  law  adds  to  the  legal 
restraints  thrown  around  women  workers;  but  to  assert  that 
such  a  statute,  framed  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  women 
wage  earners  from  undue  economic  compulsion,  means  inter fer- 


PROTECTIVE  LEGISLATION  FOR  EMPLOYEES       269 

ence  with  any  sort  of  freedom  which  is  valuable  to  the  workers 
is  absurd  or  disingenuous.  Such  legislation  leads  to  relief 
from  the  steady  pressure  of  economic  coercion  which  forces 
women  to  work  many  hours  each  day,  to  injure  their  health, 
and  to  endanger  posterity.  (Such  a  statute  can  only  consti- 
tute an  interference  with  any  real  and  tangible  form  of  free- 
dom of  contract  when  both  parties  to  the  contract  are  equal 
as  bargainers.  )  Mrs.  Robins,  the  president  of  the  National 
Women's  Trade  Union  League,  has  said  in  words  tinged  with 
irony :l  "Every  one  who  knows  what  is  going  on  in  the  world 
(except  judges  and  lawyers)  knows  that  freedom  of  contract  * 
can  exist  only  between  parties  on  an  economic  equality."  ) 
Equity  between  equals  is  often  injustice  when  applied  to  re- 
lations between  unequals.  In  short,  it  is  not  difficult,  by  fixing 
the  attention  upon  the  past  and  upon  our  outgrown  industrial 
system,  to  so  interpret  liberty  and  freedom  of  contract  as  to 
lead  to  injustice  and  to  coercion  of  the  weak. 

Trend  of  Court  Decisions.  The  extreme  aversion  to  legal 
limitations  upon  the  independence  of  the  individual  and  the 
excessive  fear  of  governmental  control  have  led  to  some 
unanticipated  consequences.  Certain  negative  clauses  which 
restrain  constituted  authority  were  incorporated  into  our 
state  and  federal  constitutions.  These  clauses  were  aimed  at 
the  ever-present  specter  of  tyrannical  government.  By  a 
peculiar  transmutation  through  judicial  interpretation  they 
have  become  bulwarks  behind  which  property  owners  are 
able  to  strongly  entrench  themselves.  The  familiar  clause 
declaring  that  no  person  shall  "be  deprived  of  life,  liberty, 
or  property,  without  due  process  of  law,"  was  originally 
inserted  into  our  constitutional  system  in  order  to  prevent 
confiscation  of  property  by  tyrannical  officials.  Another 
familiar  prohibition  incorporated  into  our  constitutional  sys- 
tem for  similar  reasons  declares  that  no  law  may  be  passed 
which  interferes  with  the  freedom  of  private  contracts  or 


270    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

engagements.  Again,  more  or  less  well  denned  prohibitions 
of  special  or  class  legislation  which  grants  special  privileges 
are  found  in  the  constitutions  of  many  states;  and  the  four- 
teenth amendment  to  the  federal  constitution  among  other 
things  declares  "that  no  State  shall  make  or  enforce  any 
law  which  shall  abridge  the  privileges  or  immunities  of  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States."  {Strictly  interpreted,  these  clauses 
seem  to  constitute  a  constitutional  prohibition  of  legislation 
which  interferes  with  the  so-called  freedom  of  contract,  and 
of  class  legislation.  ^  In  reality,  these  prohibitions  artificially 
strengthen  what  are  called  individual  and  corporate  rights, 
and  give  those  rights  an  almost  impregnable  position.  "The 
general  status  of  the  property  owner  under  the  law  cannot  be 
changed  by  the  action  of  the  legislature,  or  the  executive,  or 
the  people  of  a  State  voting  at  the  polls,  or  all  three  put 
together.  It  cannot  be  changed  without  either  a  concensus 
of  opinion  among  the  judges,  which  should  lead  them  to 
retrace  their  old  views,  or  an  amendment  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  by  the  slow  and  cumbersome  machinery 
provided  for  that  purpose,  or,  last  —  and  I  hope  most  im- 
probable—  a  revolution."1  These  prohibitions,  which  are 
so  firmly  embedded  in  our  legal  system,  are  construed  to 
prohibit  any  legislation  which  deprives  a  citizen  of  the  right 
to  buy  or  sell  labor  power  whenever  and  under  whatsoever 
conditions  he  may  desire  to  buy  or  to  sell. 

The  courts  have  never  rigidly  adhered  to  a  strict  interpre- 
tation of  these  phrases.  A  certain  amount  of  class  legislation 
has  been  allowed  as  a  matter  of  practical  expediency.  Pro- 
tective tariffs  and  child  labor  laws  have  long  been  allowed. 
Contracts  which  are  "contrary  to  public  policy"  are  held  to 
be  null  and  void.  Agreements  in  restraint  of  trade  and  con- 
tracts not  to  marry  are  held  to  be  contrary  to  public  policy. 
The  elastic  element  in  our  constitutional  system  in  so  far  as  it 

1  Hadley,  The  Independent,  April  16,  1908. 


PROTECTIVE  LEGISLATION  FOR  EMPLOYEES       271 

touches  the  question  of  labor  legislation  is  found  in  the  concept 
of  "  contrary  to  public  policy."  Inevitably  the  interpretation, 
judicial  and  otherwise,  changes  as  industrial  and  social  forms 
and  relations  undergo  modification.  {The  law  is  a  progressive 
science;  but  its  progress  is  deliberate. \  This  regulative  power 
which  modifies  the  right  of  freedom  of  contract  and  introduces 
certain  limitations  upon  the  exercise  of  property  rights  is 
called  the  ".police  power  of  the  state."  The  police  power  is 
a 'comprehensive  and  somewnat  vague  term.  It  has  two  chief 
attributes^"  it  aims  directly  to  secure  and  promote  the  public 
welfare,  and  it  does  so  by  restraint  and  compulsion.''.^  As 
long  as  social  and  industrial  conditions  change,  the  police 
power  must  be  capable  of  development.  It  is  a  safety  valve 
in  any  community  whose  highest  authority  is  derived  from  a 
written  constitution  which  cannot  be  readily  amended.  The 
problem  is  to  secure  an  extension  of  the  police  power  which 
keeps  pace  with  industrial  and  social  change;  and  this  prob- 
lem is  a  difficult  one  in  an  age  of  revolutionary  industrial  and 
commercial  changes. 

Labor  legislation  constitutes  an  interference  with  the 
original  and  unmodified  doctrines  of  liberty  and  of  the  free- 
dom of  contract.  Labor  legislation  when  sustained  by  the 
courts  is  sustained  as  a  legitimate  exercise  of  the  police 
power.  The  decisions  are  still  conflicting,  and  the  outcome  in 
a  given  case  involving  the  application  of  the  police  power, 
uncertain;  but  the  philosophy  underlying  our  judicial  system 
is  undoubtedly  undergoing  radical  and  far-reaching  modifi- 
cations. The  majority  of  the  members  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States  during  the  decade  from  1900  to  1910 
were  old  men.  Several  were  over  seventy  years  of  age;  and 
a  recent  appointee  is  nearly  seventy  years  old.  These  men 
received  their  training  and  had  their  ideals  and  philosophy 
of  life  quite  definitely  formulated  a  generation  ago.  But 
1  Freund,  The  Police  Power,  p.  3. 


272     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

since  that  ^time  the  fundamentals  of  economic  and  political 
science  have  been  subjected  to  important  transformations. 
As  younger  men,  trained  in  the  newer  school  of  economics  and 
saturated  with  the  recent  teachings  of  our  colleges  and  uni- 
versities, come  to  the  front  in  the  legal  profession,  we  may 
confidently  expect  the  older  laissez  faire  or  individualistic 
theory  of  the  law  and  of  justice  to  be  more  rapidly  modified. 
(Tne  trend  of  court  decisions  has  been  away  from  the  tradi- 
tional idea  of  freedom  of  contract  and  laissez  faire,  and  toward 
an  increase  in  the  police  power  of  the  state  in  the  interests 
of  practical  and  tangible  freedom  for  the  individual.)  The 
pressure  of  industrial  change  has  been  so  potent  and  compel- 
ling that  legal  precedents,  social  inertia,  and  the  direct  oppo- 
sition of  certain  classes  in  the  community  have  gradually, 
but  tardily,  yielded.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  many 
limitations  now  deemed  essential  by  our  courts  will  soon  be 
seen  to  be  non-essential  and  subversive  of  free  institutions  in 
the  twentieth  century.  The  validity  of  this  thesis  must  be 
maintained  by  a  presentation  of  the  history  and  present 
status  of  labor  legislation.  One  student  of  this  problem  has 
arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  the  constitutionality  of  a  re- 
strictive labor  law  depends  upon  its  wisdom.  "In  other 
words,  granted  that  a  restriction  is  wise  under  the  given 
condition,  it  is  an  easy  task  to  prove  that  it  is  also  consti- 
tutional."1 This  over-enthusiastic  statement  is  borne  out  in 
a  large  measure  by  the  court  decisions  relative  to  the  consti- 
tutionality of  laws  limiting  the  hours  of  the  working  day.  It 
is  perhaps  needless  to  remark  that  the  interpretation  of  what 
is  wise  or  unwise  in  a  given  situation  will  be  subject  to  wide 
variation. 

Perhaps  the  most  clear  and  definite  example  of  judicial 
advance  is  found  in  two  Illinois  decisions  upon  laws  limiting 
the  working  hours  of  female  factory  employees.     The  first 
1  Seager,  Political  Science  Quarterly.    Vol.  19:  589. 


PROTECTIVE  LEGISLATION  FOR  EMPLOYEES       273 

decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  that  state  was  given  in  1895. 
An  eight-hour  law  was  declared  unconstitutional.  Fifteen 
•years  later  the  court  declared  a  ten-hour  law  constitutional. 
The  contrast  in  the  two  decisions  is  indicated  by  the  following 
extracts  from  the  two  decisions.  In  1895  the  court  declared: 
"This  enactment  is  a  purely  arbitrary^j^atrjction  upon  the 
fundamental  right  of  the  citizen  to  control  his  or  her  own  time 
and  faculties.  It  substitutes  the  judgment  of  the  legislature 
for  the  judgment  of  the  employer  and  employee  in  a  matter 
about  which  they  are  competent  to  agree  with  each  other. 
But  the  police  power  of  the  state  can  only  be  permitted  to 
limit  or  abridge  such  a  fundamental  right  as  the  right  to 
make  contracts,  when  the  exercise  of  such  power  is  necessary 
to  promote  the  health,  comfort,  welfare,  or  safety  of  society 
or  the  public;  and  it  is  questionable  whether  it  can  be  exercised 
to  prevent  injury  to  the  individual  engaged  in  a  particular 
calling."  Ten  years  earlier,  in  1885,  the  New  York  Court  of 
Appeals  in  declaring  a  law  prohibiting  the  manufacture  of 
cigars  in  tenements  asked:  —  "What  possible  relation  can 
cigar  making  in  any  building  have  to  the  health  of  the  general 
public?"  In  the  1910  decision  the  court  recognized  that  a 
long  working  day  might  injure  women  workers  even  if  it  did 
not  adversely  affect  male  wage  earners.  It  presented  a  very 
different  view  as  to  the  police  power.  "It  would,  therefore, 
seem  obvious  that  legislation  which  limits  the  number  of 
hours  which  woman  shall  be  permitted  to  work  to  ten  hours 
in  a  single  day  in  such  employments  as  are  carried  on  in 
mechanical  establishments,  factories,  and  laundries,  would 
tend  to  preserve  the  health  of  women  and  insure  the  produc- 
tion of  vigorous  offspring  by  them,  and  would  directly  con- 
duce to  the  health,  morals,  and  general  welfare  of  the  public, 
and  that  such  legislation  would  fall  clearly  within  the  police 
power  of  the  state."  The  early  decision  is  permeated  with 
the  old  individualistic  and  negative  theory  of  liberty.  The 


274    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

recent  decision  accepts  the  doctrine  that  the  welfare  of  the 
individual  is  essential  to  the  general  welfare,  and  that  legal 
restraints  may  increase  the  tangible  liberty  of  the  individual 
and  promote  the  general  welfare.  The  decision  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  sustaining  an  Arkansas  statute 
providing  for  the  payment  of  wages  to  coal  miners  according 
to  the  weight  of  the  coal  mined  before  it  is  screened,  has 
opened  the  way  for  much  desirable  social  and  labor  legislation. 
The  court  has  taken  a  sober  view  of  the  constitutional  limi- 
tations placed  upon  its  own  powers  to  annul  legislation.  "If 
the  law  in  controversy  has  a  reasonable  relation  to  the  pro- 
tection of  the  public  health,  safety,  or  welfare,  it  is  not  to  be 
set  aside  because  the  judiciary  may  be  of  the  opinion  that 
the  act  will  fail  of  its  purpose  or  because  it  is  thought  to  be 
an  unwise  exertion  of  the  authority  vested  in  the  legislative 
branch  of  the  government."1 

History  of  Labor  Legislation.  The  historical  background 
for  our  labor  legislation  is/  found  in  England.  )  Like  other 
European  countries  in  the  medieval  period  England  minutely 
regulated  the  activities  of  the  laboring  class.  Wages,  the 
length  of  the  working  day,  apprenticeship,  and  the  like  were 
minutely  determined  by  statutes,  and  combinations  of  work- 
ingmen  were  prohibited.  Doubtless,  as  in  recent  years,  the 
amount  of  regulation  and  restriction  was  theoretically  greater 
as  indicated  by  the  mass  of  legislation  than  it  was  in  actual 
practice.  Again,  as  at  the  present  time,  legislation  undoubt- 
edly outstripped  enforcement.  In  the  eighteenth  century,  as 
the  new  industrial  regime  began  to  destroy  the  old,  opposi- 
tion to  regulation  developed.  Gradually  the  old  medieval 
system  fell  into  disuse  and  disrepute.  The  old  regulations 
became  burdensome;  mobility  of  labor  instead  of  fixity  was 
demanded  by  the  rising  manufacturing  class.  The  customary 

1  McLean  vs.  Arkansas,  211  U.  S.  539.  See  The  Survey,  September  3,  1910, 
P-  777- 


PROTECTIVE  LEGISLATION  FOR  EMPLOYEES       275 

regulations  in  regard  to  apprenticeship,  formulated  in  the  time 
of  Queen  Elizabeth,  were  destroyed  piecemeal.  After  Lord 
Mansfield  had  voiced  the  sentiments  prevailing  during  the 
first  years  of  last  century  by  declaring  this  famous  statute  to 
be  "against  the  natural  rights  and  contrary  to  the  common 
law  rights  of  the  land,"  it  was  removed  in  1814  from  the 
statute  books.  The  assault  upon  the  Navigation  Acts  began 
in  1796.  In  the  forties  the  long  struggle  for  the  repeal  of  the 
corn  laws  was  won.  Step  by  step  mercantilism  had  yielded 
to  the  system  of  non-interference;  but  while  the  life  of  the  old 
system  of  regulation  was  .ebbing  away,  unexpected  evils  and 
complications  appeared.  ( The  harmony  and  beneficence  of 
laissezfaire  had  apparently  been  over-emphasized.  Production 
increased;  but  misery  multiplied  or  became  more  apparent. 
Displacement  of  labor,  over-worked  children,  unhealthful 
working  conditions,  and  dreary  factory  villages  became  com- 
mon phenomena.  )  "  In  many  ways,  therefore,  it  might  seem 
that  the  great  material  advances  which  had  been  made,  the  re- 
moval of  artificial  restrictions,  the  increase  of  liberty  of  action, 
the  extension  of  the  field  of  competition,  the  more  enlight- 
ened opinions  on  economic  and  social  relations,  had  failed 
to  increase  human  happiness  appreciably;  indeed,  for  a  time 
had  made  the  condition  of  the  mass  of  the  people  worse 
instead  of  better."1  The  evils  of  the  period  of  transition 
from  the  handicraft  to  the  factory  system  led  to  the  birth  of  a 
new  system  of  industrial  regulation  even  before  the  old  was 
entirely  swept  aside.  The  competitive  game  was  not  allowed 
to  be  fought  without  rules,  even  in  the  period  when  individ- 
ualism was  at  its  flood. 

In  1802  a  law  was  passed  to  alleviate  the  condition  of  the 
over-worked,  under-fed,  and  abused  pauper  children  who  had 
been  taken  from  the  poorhouses  of  the  large  cities  of  England 
and  transported  to  the  sparsely  settled  districts  of  the  north- 

1  Cheyney,  Industrial  and  Social  History  of  England,  p.  239. 


276    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

west  which  were  developing  manufacturing  centers  because 
of  the  presence  of  water  power.  This  bill,  entitled  "Health 
and  Morals  Act  to  regulate  the  Labor  of  Bound  Children  in 
Cotton  Factories,"  was,  as  the  title  indicates,  restricted  in  its 
application;  its  importance  lies  chiefly  in  the  fact  that  it  is  the 
forerunner  of  a  vast  array  of  factory  laws  for  the  amelioration 
of  the  conditions  of  workers  of  all  sexes  and  ages  in  a  variety 
of  industries.  "From  the  beginning  the  protection  of  the 
state  was  gradually  extended  to  'young  people'  and  other 
textile  industries  (1833),  then  to  women  (1844),  next  to  all 
large  industries  (1864),  then  to  the  smaller  workshops  gen- 
erally (1867),  and  finally  in  1878  blossomed  out  into  a  full- 
fledged  factory  act,  regulating  industry  generally  in  behalf 
of  the  health  and  safety  of  the  laboring  population."1 

In  the  medieval  period,  since  wages  and  other  conditions  of 
labor  were  subject  to  regulation  by  the  government,  concerted 
attempts  to  raise  wages  or  to  shorten  the  working  day  were 
illegal  because  such  attempts  interfered  with  governmental 
regulation.  Beginning  with  the  sixteenth  century  various 
"  cpmbmationacts  "  were  passed.  The  last  of  such  acts  was 
enacted  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century.  All  agree- 
ments between  workmen  entered  into  for  the  purpose  of 
raising  wages  or  of  changing  any  other  condition  of  employ- 
ment were  declared  illegal.  Workmen  entering  into  such 
combinations  were  liable  to  be  puru'shed  by  imprisonment. 
This  legislation  made  the  essential  methods  and  policies  of 
organized  labor  unlawful.  During  the  first  years  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  not  only  were  labor  organizations  illegal, 
but  the  weight  of  public  sentiment  was  against  them.  Com- 
bination laws  were  relics  of  the  old  mercantile  system  carried 
down  into  a  period  when  laissez  faire  was  dominant;  but  the 
ruling  classes  felt  that  this  exception  was  favorable  to  their 
interests. 

1  Adams  and  Sumner,  Labor  Problems,  p.  464. 


PROTECTIVE  LEGISLATION  FOR  EMPLOYEES       277 

Many  English  workmen  were  prosecuted  in  the  first  quarter 
of  the  century-  under  the  combination  laws.  In  1824  the  com- 
bination laws  were  repealed;  but  in  the  following  year  the  pen- 
dulum swung  back  slightly  and  another  law  was  passed.  The 
net  result  of  the  two  laws  was  to  allow  wage  earners  to  meet 
for  the  purpose  of  raising  the  wages  or  shortening  the  work- 
ing day  of  those  present  at  the  meeting.  Violence,  "rntimi- 
dation,"  and  "obstruction."  to  accomplish  these  purposes  were 
illegal.  Under  this  legislation  labor  organizations  became 
lawful,  but  their  activities  were  confined  within  narrow 
limits.  In  1859  it  became  lawful  to  demand  higher  wages 
or  a  shorter  working  day  even  when  persons  other  than  the 
strikers  or  petitioners  were  involved.  Peaceful  persuasion 
of  fellow  workmen  was  legalized.  Finally,  by  laws  passed  by 
Parliament  in  1871  and  1875,  trade  unions  were  definitely 
legalized;  and  their  normal  activities  were  declared  to  be  no 
longer  subject  to  legal  disapproval.  Unions  were  no  longer 
to  be  considered  combinations  in  restraint  of  trade,  and  their 
funds  were  protected.  Combinations  to  raise  prices  were 
still  illegal,  but  combinations  ^o  raise  wages  were  taken  out 
of  that  category.  (The  common  law  doctrines  in  regard  to 
restraint  of  trade  and  special  legislation  were  modified  in 
favor  of  labor  organizations,  j 

In  the  United  States  a  similar  change  may  be  noted;  but 
in  this  country  not  only  the  common  law,  but  our  constitu- 
tional system  has  acted  so  as  to  retard  any  modification  of 
the  doctrines  of  freedom  of  contract  and  of  no  class  legislation, 
which  would  allow  the  legalization  of  labor  organizations  and 
of  legislation  protecting  the  employee.  Much  labor  legisla- 
tion has  been  declared  unconstitutional;  and,  as  a  consequence, 
American  workingmen  have  come  to  distrust  the  courts  more 
than  their  English  brethren.  With  the  exception  of  the 
/mechanics'  lien  law,  free  school  legislation/  and  a  few  isolated 
attempts  to  limit  the  hours  of  labor  for  women  and  children, 


278    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

no  labor  legislation  of  importance  was  passed  until  after  the 
close  of  the  Civil  War.  Massachusetts  has  led  hi  labor 
legislation.  In  1866  a  child  labor  law  was  passed;  in  1869  a 
state  bureau  ofTabor  was  established;  in  the  seventies'  a  ten- 
hour  law  for  women  and  child  workers  and  a  factory  inspec- 
tion act  were  passed.  These  laws  have  served  as  models  for 
similar  legislation  hi  many  other  commonwealths. 

The  Chief  Forms  of  Labor  Legislation.  Labor  legislation  in 
the  states  of  the  United  States  relates  to  a  variety  of  different 
subjects,  such  as  the  establishment  of  departments  of  factory 
inspection,  limitation  of  the  hours  of  labor,  prohibition  of 
night  work  or  of  Sunday  labor,  the  exclusion  of  certain  classes 
of  wage  earners  from  certain  kinds  of  employment,  provi- 
sions for  the  frequent  payment  of  wages,  prohibition  of  truck 
payment,  guards  for  dangerous  machinery,  regulations  as  to 
the  sanitary  conditions  within  factories  and  workshops, 
regulations  as  to  cleaning  or  oiling  machinery,  apprenticeship, 
discrimination  against  union  men  either  in  hiring  or  dischar- 
ging workers,  and  many  other  matters  touching  upon  the 
health,  safety,  and  well-being  of  wage  earners.  In  addition 
many  regulations  have  been  passed  relating  specifically  to 
mines  and  mine  workers. 

Every  state  and  territory  and  the  federal  government  have 
passed  legislation  relating  to  labor.  The  Illinois  factory  law, 
which  went  into  effect  in  January,  1910,  is  an  excellent  exam- 
ple of  a  factory  act.  The  chief  points  in  this  particular  piece 
of  labor  legislation  may  be  summarized  as  follows:  —  (a) 
All  machinery  must  be  carefully  protected,  (b)  Set  screws 
and  other  dangerous  projections  must  be  countersunk  or 
otherwise  guarded,  if  possible,  (c)  Means  must  be  provided 
for  quickly  stopping  machinery,  (d)  Machinery  must  not 
be  placed  closely  together;  adequate  passageways  must  be 
provided,  (e)  All  elevators  and  openings  in  the  floor  must  be 
enclosed.  (/)  Premises  must  J?.e  sanitary.  Equal  tempera- 


PROTECTIVE  LEGISLATION  FOR  EMPLOYEES       279 

ture  must  be  maintained;  and  suitable  seats  must  be  pro- 
vided for  female  workers,  (g)  Adequate  and  sanitary  toilet 
facilities  must  be  provided  for  workers  of  both  sexes.  Qi) 
Food  must  not  be  eaten  in  any  room  where  white  lead,  arsenic, 
or  other  poisonous  gases  are  present,  (i)  Sufficient  means  of 
escape  in  the  case  of  fire  must  be  provided  and  kept  free  from 
obstruction,  (j)  Noxious  fumes  and  gases  must  be  removed 
as  far  as  is  practicable,  (k)  No  employee  shall  be  allowed  to 
operate  a  machine  with  which  he  is  not  familiar.  (/)  The 
employer  is  required  to  report  all  accidents  to  the  state  fac- 
tory inspector,  which  result  in  death.  In  1909  thirty  states 
had  provided  for  factory  inspection  departments.  In  this 
number  are  included  all  of  the  industrial  states  of  the  North 
and  West,  and  the  following  Southern  states,  —  Alabama, 
Louisiana,  and  South  Carolina. 

The  efficiency  of  labor  legislation  depends:  —  (a)  upon  the 
efficiency  of  the  inspection  department;  (£>)  upon  the  power 
given  that  department;  and  (c)  upon  the  phraseology  of  the 
law,  —  for  example,  a  law  limiting  the  hours  of  labor  and  fix- 
ing the  limits  within  which  the  work  of  the  3ay"may  be  done 
is  more  readily  enforced  than  one  merely  limiting  the  hours. 
Much  labor  legislation  is  rendered  useless  or  is  emasculated 
through  the  lack  of  proper  inspection,  or  by  technicalities 
which  make  enforcement  difficult.  Again,  the  insertion  of 
some  clause  providing  for  certain  exemptions  may  result  in 
its  annulment  by  the  courts  on  the  ground  of  special  legisla- 
tion. The  Michigan  nine-hour  law  for  women  workers  was 
attacked  because  the  canning  industries  of  the  state  were 
specifically  exempted  from  the  operation  of  the  law. 

Present  Status  of  Labor  Legislation.  The  police  power  of 
the  state  furnishes  the  legal  basis  for  labor  legislation;  but 
the  fundamental  sanctions  are  social  and  economic  rather 
than  purely  legal.  These  sanctions  rest  upon  at  least  two 
well  grounded  piers:  —  "posteritism"  or  racial  improvement, 


280    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

and  ^ym^nitajjanism  or  the  protection  of  the  weak  from  the 
aggression  of  the  strong.  Long  working  days,  speeded-up 
workers,  insanitary  shops,  dangerous  machinery,  —  all  tend 
to  render  workers  and  their  descendants  weaker  and  more 
inefficient,  and  to  lower  the  physical,  mental,  and  moral  stam- 
ina of  the  race.  In  the  name  of  what  has  been  aptly  called 
"posteritism,"  in  the  name  of  human  progress,  it  is  the  duty 
of  society  through  its  executive  machine,  the  government, 
to  reduce  and  finally  to  remove  the  evils  now  apparently 
inseparably  connected  with  modern  industry.  "The  funda- 
mental purpose  of  labor  legislation  is  the  conservation  of  the 
human  resources  of  the  nation"  is  a  familiar  mottxrof  the 
American  Association  for  Labor  Legislation, 
f  Society  is  slowly  coming  to  the  realization  of  the  fact  that 
equal  treatment  of  unequals  often  results  in  gross  injustice.^ 
Strong,  well  organized  workers  may  not  need  protective  laws, 
the  professional  man  may  not,  although  he  usually  wishes 
legal  enactments  as  to  professional  requirements  for  entrance 
into  the  profession;  but  the  child  and  unorganized  or  poorly 
organized  men  and  women  workers  certainly  are  at  a  disad- 
vantage in  bargaining  with  well  organized  capital.  Legal 
protection  is  necessary  in  order  to  insure  fair,  or  even  decent, 
treatment. 

Having  thus  briefly  stated  the  reasons  for  protective  laws 
for  workers,  and  outlined  the  causes  of  the  constitutional 
difficulties  which  obstruct  progress,  we  may  now  turn  to  a 
consideration  of  some  of  the  important  kinds  of  labor  legisla- 
tion, actual  and  proposed.  Factory  acts  relating  to  sanitary 
conditions  in  factories,  workshops,  and  mines,  to  the  guarding 
of  dangerous  machinery,  and  to  provisions  for  fire  escapes 
and  the  like,  have  not  been  greatly  interfered  with  because 
of  constitutional  difficulties.  The  courts  generally  recognize 
such  interference  with  industry  on  the  part  of  state  legis- 
latures to  be  a  legitimate  exercise  of  the  police  power  of  the 


PROTECTIVE  LEGISLATION  FOR  EMPLOYEES       281 

state.  Such  provisions  are  written  into  statute  laws  in  the 
interest  of  public  health  and  public  safety.  The  courts  recog- 
nize that  the  interest  of  society  in  these  fundamental  matters 
is  more  important  than  the  individual  right  to  an  abstract 
and  theoretical  freedom  of  contract,  that  is,  freedom  to  enter 
into  a  contract  which  will  endanger  health  and  life. 

When  the  stat(flegislatures  pass  laws  relating  to  hours  of 
labor,  night  work,  use  of  dangerous  machinery,  or  methods  of 
wage  payments,  legal  and  constitutional  complications  arise. 
The  courts  are  not  easily  convinced  that  these  laws  consti- 
tute a  legitimate  exercise  of  the  police  power,  and  that  these 
laws  are  not  unwarranted  encroachments  upon  the  freedom  of 
contract  and  the  rights  of  property  guaranteed  by  the  federal 
and  various  state  constitutions.  Before  entering  upon  a  some- 
what detailed  examination  of  the  attitude  of  the  courts 
toward  these  important  kinds  of  labor  legislation,  it  must  be 
noted  that  there  are  three  different  classes  of  wage  earners  to 
be  considered,  —\children  (under  sixteen  years  of  age),  women, 
and  men.  \  The  courts  look  upon  these  classes  differently.  It 
may  also  be  urged  that  from  a  social  or  an  economic  view- 
point lines  of  demarcation  may  also  be  drawn  between  these 
classes  of  workers.  Wages  and  the  possibility  of  organization 
differ,  and  the  effect  of  working  conditions  upon  home  life 
and  racial  efficiency  is  not  the  same  for  all  three  classes.  In 
the  majority  of  our  states  only  men  may  cast  the  ballot.  The 
police  power  of  the  state  may  readily  be  invoked  in  favor  of 
the  children  since  constitutional  obstacles  have  long  been 
swept  aside  in  regard  to  minors.  In  the  case  of  women  work-  • 
ers  the  courts  will  sanction  less  legislative  interference  than 
they  will  in  the  case  of  children;  but  more  than  in  the  case  of 
men.  Three  kinds  of  protective  laws,  —  those  in  regard  to 
hours  of  work,  the  prohibition  of  work,  and  dangerous  or 
unhealthful  occupations,  are  interrelated  and  may  be  con- 
isidered  in  connection  with  each  other. 


282     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

Laws  regulating  or  prohibiting  the  employment  of  children 
as  wage  workers  are  now  uniformly  recognized  as  within  the 
legitimate  sphere  of  the  police  power.  Minors  have  long 
been  considered  as  the  recipients  of  particular  care  and  pro- 
tection from  organized  society.  As  minors  are  not  free  to 
make  contracts  without  supervision,  child  labor  laws  are  not 
held  to  violate  the  constitutionally  guaranteed  rights  of  chil- 
dren. The  courts  clearly  recognize  the  legitimacy  of  the 
exercise  of  the  police  power  to  relieve  the  children  of  the 
nation  from  the  economic  pressure  which  tends  to  push  them 
into  industry  at  an  early  age. 

Nearly  thirty  states  have  passed  legislation  limiting  the 
number  of  hours  per  day  or  per  week  which  a  woman  wage 
earner  may  be  allowed  to  work.  The  customary  maximum 
is  ten  hours  per  day  or  sixty  hours  per  week.  Arizona 
(applies  to  laundries),  California,  and  Washington  fix'The 
maximum  at  eight  hours  peTday;  Massachusetts,  Michigan, 
Missouri,  and  Montana,  at  54  hours  per  week;  and  Connecticut, 
Maine,  Minnesota,  and  New  Hampshire,  at  58.  The  Michigan 
law  of  1909  provides  that  no  female  shall  be  employed  for 
more  than  an  average  of  nine  hours  per  day  or  54  per  week  in 
any  manufacturing  establishment,  laundry,  or  store.  In  ^907, 
after  a  characteristically  thorough  investigation,  Germany 
enacted  a  ten-hour  law  for  women  workers  in  factories.  A 
few  states  prohibit  night  work  on  the  part  of  women  wage 
earners.  The  most  advanced  legislation  is  that  of  Indiana 
and  New  York.  The  Indiana  law  prohibits  women  from 
working  between  the  hours  of  ten  P.M.  and  six  A.M.  in  man- 
ufacturing and  mercantile  establishments,  laundries,  and 
bakeries.  The  New  York  law  fixes  the  prohibited  period 
from  nine  P.M.  to  six  A.M.;  but  this  act  has  been  declared 
unconstitutional  in  so  far  as  it  applies  to  adults.  All  except 
twelve  states  (January,  1910)  have  placed  laws  upon  their 
statute  books  requiring  seats  to  be  provided  for^Jemale 


PROTECTIVE  LEGISLATION  FOR  EMPLOYEES       283 

workers;  but  in  only  eight  states  do  these  laws  apply  to  all 
establishments  employing  women.  Some  states  have  enacted 
legislation  forbidding  the  employment  of  women  in  certain 
occupations.  In  Michigan,  for  example,  women  cannot  be 
legally  employed  in  barrooms.  Xo  less  than  twelve  states 
prohibit  the  employment  of  women  in  mines. 

The  chief  decisions  relating  to  the  regulation  of  the  working 
hours  of  women  wage  earners  are  as  follows:  —  In  1876 
Massachusetts  sustained  a  ten-hour  law.  In  1902  a  ten- 
hour  law  for  women  workers  was  sustained  in  Nebraska  and 
also  in  Washington.  In  1906  the  Oregon  ten-hour  law  was 
upheld  in  the  state  courts;  and  two  years  later  by  the  United 
States  Supreme  Court.  In  1910  a  statute  modeled  after 
that  of  Oregon  was  sustained  in  Illinois,  thus  reversing  an 
earlier  decision  in  regard  to  an  eight-hour  law  for  women  wage 
earners.  In  1909  an  inferior  court  in  Michigan  declared  the 
nine-hour  law  of  that  state  unconstitutional  in  so  far  as  it 
related  to  women  workers.  The  act  was  held  to  be  a  form  of 
class  legislation  because  an  exception  was  made  in  favor  of 
the  canning  establishments  of  the  state.  The  State  Supreme 
Court  in  1910  declared  the  law  to  be  constitutional.  In  1907 
the  New  York  statute  prohibiting  the  night  work  of  women 
wage  earners  was  declared  unconstitutional  by  the  state 
courts. 

The  two  most  important  cases  in  regard  to  female  workers 
are  the  Oregon  laundry  case  before  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court  in  1908,  and  the  Ritchie  case  before  the  Illinois  Supreme 
Court  in  1910.  In  both  cases  the  constitutionality  of  laws 
restricting  the  hours  of  labor  for  female  employees  was  upheld, 
and  in  both  cases  the  tactics  pursued  by  the  lawyers  for  the 
state  were  similar.  Louis  D.  Brandeis  was  the  lawyer  chiefly 
responsible  for  the  briefs  in  both  cases.  Each  brief  is  almost 
entirely  devoted  to  a  careful  and  painstaking  presentation  of 
the  evil  effects  of  a  long  working  day  upon  the  health  of 


284    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

women  —  the  mothers  of  the  race.  The  appeal  did  not  rest  so 
much  upon  legal  precedent  as  upon  the  evils  which  are  today 
resulting  from  long  continued  work  of  women  in  our  factories, 
stores,  and  laundries.  The  presentation  was  convincing,  and 
in  each  case  the  law  was  sustained  as  being  a  legitimate  and 
desirable  exercise  of  the  police  power  of  the  state. 

The  Illinois  case,  to  which  reference  has  been  made  in  a 
preceding  section,  is  particularly  interesting,  because  the  court 
practically  reversed  an  earlier  decision,  and  because  of  the 
circumstances  surrounding  the  trial.  In  September,  1909, 
an  injunction  was  granted  by  a  judge  of  an  inferior  court 
preventing  the  enforcement  of  the  law  in  the  case  of  the 
establishment  of  the  complainant.  The  plea  for  the  injunc- 
tion came  nominally  from  two  women  employees  of  the  W.  C. 
Ritchie  Company,  —  paper-box  manufacturers.  In  reality, 
it  seems  to  have  come  from  an  association  of  manufacturers. 
The  women  averred  that  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  make  a 
living  unless  they  were  allowed  to  work  more  than  ten  hours 
per  day.  'One  of  the  women  stated  that  she  had  been  em- 
ployed by  the  company  for  thirty- two  years,  or  since  she  was 
thirteen  years  of  age.  She  asserted  that  she  was  considered 
to  be  "the  most  competent  skilled  worker  in  her  department." 
Yet  her  employers  were  unable  or  unwilling  to  pay  sufficient 
wages  for  ten  hours  daily  work  to  enable  this  woman  to  sup- 
port herself  and  sister.  Surely  this  was  "  a  hideous  admission  " 
on  the  part  of  her  employers.  If  such  was  the  actual  situa- 
tion, the  choice  would  lie  between  cheap  paper  boxes  and 
healthy  womanhood.  But  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  this 
woman  was  "skilled  and  skinned." 

It  may  not  be  entirely  gratuitous  to  ask  why  employers 
should  be  so  eager  to  raise,  as  was  done  in  this  case,  the  point 
of  interference  with  the  worker's  freedom  of  contract.  Is  it 
not  peculiar  and  significant  that  associations  of  employers 
should  suddenly  become  so  solicitous  of  the  rights  of  their 


PROTECTIVE  LEGISLATION  FOR  EMPLOYEES       285 

female  employees  that  they  will  fight  this  and  similar  leg- 
islation? The  National  Women's  Trade  Union  League  has 
declared  for  an  eight-hour  day.  Their  members  evidently 
are  not  afraid  of  any  loss  of  freedom  as  a  consequence  of  such 
legislation.  This  question  is  a  pertinent  one:  —  "Are  these 
anxious  employers  actuated  by  humane  or  selfish  motives?" 

The  granting  of  the  injunction  placed  the  burden  of  push- 
ing the  case  upon  the  state  officials ;  and  it  was  immediately 
taken  into  the  State  Supreme  Court.  Various  organizations 
in  Illinois  —  labor  unions,  religious  conferences,  assemblies  of 
social  workers,  women's  clubs,  and  the  daily  press  —  took  up 
the  matter;  and  an  aggressive  campaign  of  education  was 
begun.  Excellent  lawyers  were  retained  to  aid  the  state's 
attorneys.  As  has  been  stated,  the  court  decided  that  the 
law  was  not  unconstitutional,  and  that  it  constituted  a 
legitimate  exercise  of  the  police  power. 

A  peculiar  sidelight  is  thrown  on  this  Illinois  injunction  pro- 
ceeding because  the  judge  in  the  lower  court  stated  in  his 
decision  that  the  ten-hour  law  for  women  workers  "virtually 
relegates  women  back  to  dependence."  The  policy  of  the  State 
of  Illinois  has  been  to  advance  the  cause  of  women  and  to 
place  women  upon  an  equal  footing  with  men.  A  law  which 
would  be  held  to  be  unconstitutional  if  applied  to  men,  ought, 
therefore,  to  be  held  unconstitutional  when  applied  to  women, 
—  argued  the  court.  The  only  important  decision  of  a 
recent  date  adverse  to  the  regulation  of  the  work  of  women 
by  legislative  enactment  is  the  decision  of  the  New  York 
CouiLjof  Appeals  in  1907  which  declared  the  law  prohibiting 
the  night  work  of  women  wage  earners  to  be  an  unwarranted 
interference  with  their  right  to  freedom  of  contract.  The 
reasoning  is  similar  to  that  followed  by  the  Illinois  judge. 
"Under  our  laws,"  said  the  court,  "men  and  women  stand 
alike  in  their  constitutional  rights,  and  there  is  no  warrant 
for  making  any  discrimination  between  them  with  respect  to 


286    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

liberty  of  person  or  contract."  This  decision  is,  however, 
directly  contrary  to  the  general  trend  of  legal  opinion  as  indi- 
cated by  other  recent  decisions  in  regard  to  the  legal  regula- 
tion of  the  work  of  women.  The  existence  of  physiological 
differences  between  men  and  women  is  held  by  the  courts  to 
afford  sufficient  basis  for  an  extension  of  the  police  power 
beyond  that  which  will  be  sanctioned  in  the  case  of  male 
workers. 

(Protective  laws  in  regard  to  adult  male  workers  experience 
great  difficulty  in  running  the  gauntlet  of  constitutionality^ 
The  courts  do  not  assume  the  same  attitude  toward  an  at- 
tempt of  organized  labor  to  obtain  an  eight-hour  day  that 
they  do  toward  an  attempt  on  the  part  of  aggregated  capital 

—  a  corporation  —  to  acquire  property.  The  right  to  daily 
leisure  is  not  legally  safeguarded  as  securely  as  is  the  right 
to  acquire  and  control  property.  It  is  a  phase  of  the  old 
question  of  the  relative  rights  of  capital  and  of  horny-handed 
men.  A  recent  text-book  in  ethics  has  stated  the  case  clearly 
and  accurately.  The  "legal  attitude  toward  pressure  ex- 
erted by  business  corporations  for  the  familiar  end  of  acqui- 
sition" is  very  different  from  that  toward  pressure  "exerted 
by  the  union  for  the  novel  end  of  a  standard  of  living";  — 
that  is,  for  a  shorter  working  day.  The  courts  have  recog- 
nized the  danger  of  long  working  days  in  the  case  of  mothers 
and  future  mothers;  but  it  is  not  as  yet  understood  that 
the  general  welfare  also  demands  healthy  fathers  who 
are  not  overworked.  The  good  citizen  and  the  good  father 
must  have  a  reasonable  amount  of  leisure  each  day  and 
every  day.  Man  is  more  than  a  mere  working,  eating,  and 
sleeping  animal  or  machine.  May  we  not  expect  that  legal 
recognition  will  soon  be  given  to  th^se  self-evident  truths? 
Progress  has  been  made  in  this  direction;  but  the  move- 
ment has  not  become  pronounced.  The  courts  will,  as  yet, 
only  countenance  the  limitation  of  the  working  day  of  the 


f 

PROTECTIVE  LEGISLATION  FOR  EMPLOYEES       287 

adult  male  engaged  in  particularly ^ujteajfyhful  or  dangerous 
occupations. 


_ 

Laws  regulating  the  hours  of  adult  labor  may  be  divided 
mto_ four  classes.  Over  twenty  states  and  the  United  States 
have  passed  laws  regulating  the  wroSng  day  upon  public 
jfttofks-r  Tlje  New  York  law  fixes  eight  hours  as  the 
working  day  for  pubb'c  employees  and  for  the  employees  of 
contractors  working  for  the  state  or  municipal  corporations. 
The  federal  statute  of  1892  established  an  eight-hour  day  for 
employees  on  all  governmental  work.  The  courts  interpreted 
the  law  so  as  not  to  include  under  its  provisions  govern- 
mental work  let  out  to  private  concerns.  For  example,  the 
employees  of  a  company  building  vessels  subject  to  the 
approval  and  inspection  of  government  officials  were  not 
protected  by  the  provisions  of  this  act.  An  amendment  of 
1910  brought  the  construction  work  on  naval  vessels  within 
the  scope  of  the  statute.  /  The  second  class  of  laws  relate  to 
employees  in  mines,  smelters,  laundries,  and  other  dangerous 
and  unhealthful  occupations.!  At  the  close  of  the  year  1909 
thirteen  states  regulated  the  nours  of  labor  in  mines  or  smelt- 
ers. An^eight-hour  _day  is  usually  the  maximum  allowed. 
Arizona  fixes  eight  hours  as  the  maximum  length  of  the 
working  day  in  laundries;  and  New  York  has  a  similar  pro- 
vision in  regard  to  workers  subjected  to  the  pressure  of  com- 
pressed air  in  tunnels.  New  York  limits  the  working  hours 
of  drug  clerks  to  seventy  per  week;  and  California  fixes  the 
maximum  at  sixty  hours.  The  California  statute  declares 
this  enactment  to  be  for_"the  protection  of  public  health." 
In  the  third  place,  nearly  thirty  states  and  the  United  States 
have  passed  legislation  regulating  the  hours  of  labor  of 

(employees  on  railways,! and  at  least  ten  states  have  passed 
similar  laws  in  regard  to  street  railway  employees.  These  regu- 
lations are  intended  primarily  to  protect  the  traveling  public; 
but  the  protection  of  the  employee  is  also  an  important 


288    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

consideration.  For  this  reason  and  because  the  railway 
business  is  quasi-public  in  character,  these  laws  constitute  a 
valid  exercise  of  the  police  power  of  the  state.  Lastly,  sev- 
eral states  have  passed  laws  determining  the  length  of  the 
working  day  in/general  employments  in  the  absence  of  a 
special  contract.)  The  Wisconsin  law  reads  as  follows :  — 
"In  all  engagements  to  labor  in  any  manufacturing  or  mechan- 
ical business,  where  there  is  no  express  contract  to  the  con- 
trary, a  day's  work  shall  consist  of  eight  hours  and  all 
engagements  or  contracts  for  labor  in  such  cases  shall  be  so 
construed."  The  constitutionality  of  such  statutes  does 
not  seem  to  have  been  questioned.  They  are,  however, 
ineffectual.  An  employee  is  assumed  to  have  contracted  to 
work  during  the  working  day  customary  in  that'  establishment 
or  trade. 

In  order  that  the  real  status  of  protective  legislation  for 
adult  male  workers  may  be  definitely  presented,  a  brief 
statement  must  be  made  of  thre^  important  decisions  of  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court,  v^hese  decisions  relate  to 
laws  limiting  the  working  hours  of  adult  male  workers  in 
specific  industries.)  In  Atkins  vs.  The  People,1  October, 
1903,  the  Supreme  Court  sustained  the  right  of  a  state  to 
provide  by  statute  for  a  working  day  of  eight  hours  for  the 
employees  of  a  state,  a  county,  or  a  municipality  within 
the  state.  ^The  law  may  relate  to  work  done  directly  for  the 
state,  or  indirectly  through  contractors.  This  decision  does 
not  rest  upon  an  enlargement  of  the  police  power  of  the 
state.  The  question  of  healthfulness  or  unhealthfulness  of 
a  particular  occupation  did  not  enter.  The  decision  rested 
upon  the  broad  basis  that  the  state  had  the  right  to 
prescribe  the  conditions  under  which  services  might  be 
performed  for  it. 

In  the  famous  case  of  .Holden  vs.  Hardy  (the  Utah  eight- 

1  Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor.    No.  50 :  177-181. 


PROTECTIVE  LEGISLATION  FOR  EMPLOYEES      289 

hour  case,  1898)*  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  upheld 
the  Utah  act  which  limited  the  length  of  employment  of 
\  workmen  in  all  underground  mining  work  to  eight  hours  per 
day,  except  in  cases  of  emergency.]  The  right  to  leisure  in 
occupations  distinctly  dangerous  to  health  or  limb  was  recog- 
nized. Prior  to  this  decision  state  supreme  courts,  following 
the  1895  decision  of  the  Illinois  Supreme  Court,  had  held 
that  laws  limiting  the  working  hours  of  females,  and  conse- 
quently of  males,  were  in  contravention  of  the  fourteenth 
amendment  to  the  United  States  Constitution.  The  courts 
df  the  states  had  been  limiting  the  right  of  the  state  legis- 
latures to  pass  laws  protecting  employees.  {The  Utah  case 
strengthened  the  power  of  the  state  legislaturesA  However 
this  decision  is  not  binding  upon  state  courts;  and  the 
Supreme  Courts  of  Colorado  and  Wyoming  have  annulled 
laws  somewhat  similar  to  the  Utah  law. 

In  the  case  of  Lochner  vs.  New  York  (the  bakers'  case)2 
the  New  York  sta^ule~~IoTbidding  the  employment  of  wage 
earners  hi  bakeries  and  confectionery  establishments  for 
more  than  ten  hours  daily  was  declared  null  and  void  by 
the  decision  of  five  judges;  four  dissented  from  the  majority 
opinion.  The  New  York  State  Supreme  Court  had,  by  a 
divided  decision,  upheld  the  law  as  a  reasonable  health  regu- 
lation, and,  therefore,  as  coming  within  the  police  power  of 
the  state.  The  adverse  decision  of  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court  seems  to  have  hinged  upon  the  question  as  to  the 
healthfulness  or  unhealthfulness  of  employment  in  bakeries. 
If  unhealthful,  the  matter  of  the  restriction  of  the  hours  of 
labor  came  within  the  legitimate  sphere  of  the  police  power 
of  the  state.  If  not  distinctly  unhealthful,  the  law  interfered 
with  the  freedom  of  contract.  In  this  case  the  majority  of 
the  court  decided  that  the  limit  had  been  passed  It  seems 

1  Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor.    No.  17  :  625-637. 
*  Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor.    Nos.  57  and  59. 


290    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

quite  possible,  even  probable,  that  if  the  attorneys  for  the 
state  had  followed  the  course  later  taken  in  the  Oregon  case, 
if  they  had  presented  to  the  court  definite  and  concrete  facts 
and  statistics  in  regard  to  the  unhealthful  conditions  in  the 
baking  industry,  the  case  might  have  been  decided  differently. 
From  these  three  decisions  and  from  the  Oregon  laundry 
case  the  following  conclusions  may  be  drawn  as  to  the  con- 
stitutionality of  laws  limiting  the  hours  of  adult  employees: 
/  (i)  The  state  legislature  may  limit  the  working  day  in  the 
\  case  of  work  done  directly  or  through  contractors  for  the 
/  state,  county,  or  municipality.    (2)  In  occupations  dangerous 
/  to  health  or  life  of  employees  an  eight  or  a  ten-hour  day  may 
be  prescribed.     (3)  In  occupations  not  specially  dangerous  to 
i   health  or  life  legislative  interference  in  regard  to  the  length 
of  the  working  day  is  unconstitutional,  at  least  in  regard  to 
adult  males.     In  the  latter  class  of  industries  the  right  to 
leisure  must  be  established  through  trade-union  action.    The 
constitutional  bars  upheld  by  court  decisions  make  it  neces- 
sary for  labor  to  use,  or  threaten  to  use,  the  strike  and  the 
boycott  in  order  that  they  may  live,  rather  than  merely  exist. 
This  is  a  very  unfortunate  situation;  but  the  hands  of  the 
majority  are  tied,  as  was  indicated  in  the  bakers'  case.     A 
large  percentage  of  the  voters  of  a  given  state  may  insistently 
demand  legislation  fixing  the  maximum  number  of  hours  for 
a  working  day,  and  the  legislature  may  act  in  obedience  to 
the  expressed  wish  of  the  majority,  only  to  have  the  law 
annulled  by  the  courts  as  unconstitutional. 

A  variety  of  laws  for  the  purpose  of  giving  labor  relief  from 
harmful  coercion  on  the  part  of  the  employer  have  filled  the 
statute  books  of  our  states.  Laws  providing  for  weekly 
or  semi-monthly  payment  of  wages,  and  laws  prohibiting 
enforced  dealing  at  company  stores  and  the  truck  payment 
of  wages,  have  been  passed  in  various  states.  In  many  cases 
these  laws  have  been  declared  unconstitutional.  If  the  law 


PROTECTIVE  LEGISLATION  FOR  EMPLOYEES       291 

is  general  in  its  application,  the  courts  rule  that  it  interferes 
with  freedom  of  contract.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  law 
applies  to  particular  industries,  it  is  ruled  out  as  special 
legislation.  Evidently  trade-union,  rather  than  legislative, 
action  must  be  relied  upon  in  regard  to  these  measures. 
Nearly  all  states  make  the  wage  earner  a  preferred  creditor, 
and  also  exempt  his  wages,  to  the  amount  of  $50  or  $100, 
or  to  one  month's  earnings,  from  attachment  for  debt. 
(Nearly  a  score  of  states  have  passed  laws  for  the  purpose 
or  preventing  discrimination  against  union  men  either  in 
regard  to  employment  or  discharge.  }  As  a  rule,  such  laws 
have  been  held  to  be  unconstitutional.  A  United  States 
statute  which  declared  it  unlawful  for  interstate  carriers  to 
discharge  employees  because  of  membership  in  a  union  was 
held  to  be  null  and  void  by  the  United  States  Supreme  Court. 
"Congress  could  not,  consistently  with  the  Fifth  Amend- 
ment," said  the  court,  "make  it  a  crime  against  the  United 
States  to  discharge  the  employee  because  of  his  being  a 
member  of  a  labor  organization."  Six  judges  concurred,  two 
dissented,  and  one  did  not  participate  in  the  decision.  A 
point  made  in  the  dissenting  opinion  of  Justice  Holmes  is 
worthy  of  notice  as  indicating  the  possibility  of  a  modifica- 
tion in  judicial  opinion.  The  Justice  said  he  could  "not 
pronounce  it  unwarranted  if  Congress  should  decide  that  to 
foster  a  strong  union  was  for  the  best  interest,  not  only  of  the 
men,  but  of  the  railroads  and  the  country  at  large."  This 
clearly  foreshadows  an  important  extension  of  the  police 
power.1  A  Nevada  statute  which  forbids  employers  to 
require  employees  to  agree  to  join  or  not  to  join  a  labor  union 
was  held  by  the  federal  circuit  court  to  violate  the  provisions 
of  the  fourteenth  amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States. 
Various  labor  leaders  insist  that  labor  is  not  a  product  and 

1  For  a  discussion  of  decisions,  see  Groat,  Yale  Review.    Vol.  19 :  144-158. 


292    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

that  a  labor  organization  is  not  a  trust.  It  follows,  therefore, 
that  such  organizations  should  not  be  attacked  under  the 
provisions  of  various  anti-trust  laws.  At  least  six  states  have 
passed  laws  specifically  exempting  labor  organizations  from 
the  operation  of  statutes  against  trusts.  Such  exemptions 
may,  however,  endanger  the  entire  law.  The  federal  courts  in 
the  recent  boycott  cases  seem  to  accept  the  view  that  a  labor 
organization  is  a  trust,  and  that  it  is  subject  to  the  provisions 
of  anti-trust  laws.  Judge  Woodson  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Missouri  in  a  decision  agreed  with  the  contention  of  the 
unionists.  The  court  stated  that  "at  common  law  personal 
service  —  an  occupation  —  could  not  be  the  subject  of  a 
monopoly."1 

As  was  foreshadowed  in  a  preceding  section,  the  conclusion 
to  be  drawn  from  this  brief  study  of  the  judicial  attitude 
toward  labor  legislation  is  that  in  the  future  broad  social  and 
racial  considerations  rather  than  narrow  legal  technicalities 
will  be  of  greatest  importance  in  weighing  the  merits  and 
demerits  of  labor  legislation.  The  crucial  question  will  not 
be,  —  Does  a  given  piece  of  legislation  interfere  with  the 
traditional  freedom  of  contract?  It  will  be,  —  Does  or  does 
not  the  law  under  consideration  tend  to  improve  the  health, 
stamina,  and  efficiency  of  workers,  present  and  future?  This 
is  a  fairly  definite  criterion.  Careful  studies  of  industrial 
accidents,  of  industrial  hygiene,  and  of  the  efficiency  of 
workers  under  different  working  conditions  are  needed;  and 
the  testimony  should  be  furnished  by  the  medical  and  eco- 
nomic experts  and  by  the  student  of  comparative  legislation. 
Accurate,  uncolored,  and  widely  disseminated  information 
as  to  present  day  conditions  is  demanded. 

Employers1  Liability.  The  common  law  relating  to  em- 
ployers' liability  developed  before  the  workingmen  were 
granted  the  ballot  and  while  industry  was  still  in  a  simple 

1  Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor.    No.  81  :  435. 


PROTECTIVE  LEGISLATION  FOR  EMPLOYEES        293 

and  decentralized  form.  According  to  the  common  law  doc- 
trine the  determination  of  the  liability  for  accidents  in  indus- 
try centers  around  the  problem  of  fixing  the  responsibility 
for  injury  upon  some  definite  individual,  — "Hie  Injured  work- 
man himseif ,  a  fellow  worker,  or  the  employer,  (it  is  grounded 
upon  the  individualism  of  the  eighteenth  century.  \  This 
doctrine  may  not  have  been  palpably  unfair  to  the  employee 
in  the  days  of  the  small  shop  and  of  the  hand  tool,  but  in  the 
era  of  factories  and  railways,  and  of  complicated  and  articu- 
lated machinery,  the  common  law  doctrine  of  employers' 
liability  fails  to  deal  adequately  and  justly  with  the  injured 
worker  and  his  family.  European  countries  have  rejected 
this  individualistic  viewpoint  and  policy;  there  occupational 
risk  is  pushed  into  the  foreground.  American  legislators  and 
jurists  have  emphasized  the  rights  of  property;  European 
lawmakers  have  been  converted  to  the  social  point  of  view. 
European  laws  do  not  attempt  to  seek  out  and  penalize  the 
negligent  individual;  payment  for  injuries  received  by  work- 
men is  made  a  part  of  the  ordinary  cost  of  doing  business. 
The  compensation  system,  which  has  been  quite  generally 
adopted  in  European  countries,  awards  a  definite  sum  for 
injuries  for  which  the  occupation  is  primarily  responsible. 
Litigation  and  uncertainty  are  avoided.  If,  however,  the 
employer  has  been  grossly  negligent,  it  may  be  provided  that 
damages  may  also  be  secured;  or,  if  the  employee  was  wilfully 
careless,  that  no  compensation  be  allowed. 

Under  the  common  law  the  employer  is  required  to  pro- 
vide "reasonably"  safe  machinery  placed  in  a  "reasonably" 
safe  workshop  and  operated  by  "reasonably"  careful  work- 
men. In  short,  the  employer  must  exercise  "ordinary  care." 
The  employer  is  held  to  be  responsible  for  the  injury  of  a 
workman  only  in  case  he  or  his  vice-principal  has  been  guilty 
of  negligence.  But  employers  are  not  considered  to  be  re- 
sponsible for  the  danger  connected  with  the  occupation;  the 


294    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

occupational  risk  is  held  to  be  assumed  by  the  worker  upon 
entering  the  service  of  his  employer.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  injured  employee  finds  it  difficult  to  compel  the  employer 
to  pay  adequate  compensation  in  a  large  percentage  of  cases. 
Three  important  defenses  complicate  the  matter  and  weaken 
the  case  of  the  former,  —(the  fellow  servant  doctrine,  the 
doctrine  of  contributory  negligence,  and  the  doctrine  of  the 
assumption  of  risk.^By  appeal  to  one  or  more  of  these 
defenses,  the  burden  is  often  placed  upon  the  shoulders  of  the 
worker  and  his  family  instead  of  becoming  one  of  the  expenses 
of  the  business. 

The  fellow  servant  doctrine  was  not  early  introduced  into 
English  and  American  law;  it  is  not  found  in  other  legal 
systems.  According  to  this  doctrine  the  employer  is  released 
from  his  liability  for  the  negligence  of  his  agent,  provided  the 
injured  worker  is  a  fellow  employee.  In  case  of  a  small 
employer  or  of  a  small  workshop  it  was  not  difficult  to  de- 
termine what  constitutes  common  employment;  but  in  large 
industries  the  matter  is  not  simple.  Are  the  locomotive  engi- 
neer and  the  switchmen  fellow  servants?  Are  the  man  who 
operates  the  elevator  and  the  tool-maker  fellow  servants? 
Theoretically,  relieving  the  employer  from  responsibility  for 
the  negligence  of  a  co-worker  is  supposed  to  prevent  accidents 
due  to  the  carelessness  of  fellow  servants.  The  worker  in 
the  small  shop  could  demand  and  obtain  the  elimination  of 
the  careless  fellow  worker;  but  in  large-scale  industry  an 
employee  may  be  injured  as  the  result  of  the  negligence  of 
another  employee  who  may  be  unknown  to  the  injured  per- 
son. Yet,  under  a  strict  interpretation  of  the  law  these  men 
may  be  judged  to  be  fellow  servants.  The  locomotive  engi- 
neer has  practically  no  means  of  ascertaining  as  to  the  care- 
fulness or  the  carelessness  of  a  given  switchman;  yet  the  life 
of  the  former  may  frequently  depend  upon  the  efficiency 
of  the  switchman.  Again,  an  injury  may  be  due  to  the 


PROTECTIVE  LEGISLATION  FOR  EMPLOYEES       295 

carelessness  of  fellow  servants;  but  it  may  be  impracticable  to 
trace  such  carelessness  to  any  one  individual.  Lastly,  even 
if  the  responsibility  for  an  injury  can  be  definitely  traced  to  a 
fellow  worker,  the  legal  right  to  hold  such  person  responsible 
is  of  little  or  no  practical  importance.  Wage  workers  are 
often  financially  irresponsible.  The  net  result  of  the  fellow 
servant  defense  is  to  place  the  burden  upon  the  injured  man 
and  his  family  in  many  cases  where  he  has  not  been  negligent. 
The  courts  have,  in  certain  instances,  manifested  a  tendency 
to  modify  the  fellow  servant  defense  by  introducing  what  has 
been  called  Vthe  departmental  doctrine. " J  An  attempt  is 
made  to  stretch  the  law  to  fit  modern  industrial  conditions  by 
classifying  employees.  According  to  this  doctrine  employees 
in  different  departments  of  a  large  industry  are  not  considered 
as  fellow  servants  in  the  legal  sense.  Here  again  the  difficulty 
of  drawing  a  sharp  line  of  demarcation  often  appears. 

The  doctrine  of  contributory  negligence  places  all  the  legal 
responsibility  for  an  injury  upon  the  disabled  person  if  that 
person  is  partially  to  blame  for  the  accident.  In  a  few  cases 
the  courts  have  attempted  to  remedy  the  evident  injustice 
of  this  defense  by  formulating  a  doctrine  of/ comparative 
negligence.}  In  such  cases  the  court  has  tried  to  equitably 
apportion  the  responsibility  for  an  accident. 

The  courts  are  inclined  to  assume  that  the  employee  has 
fairly  definite  knowledge  of  the  ordinary  risks  in  his  particular 
trade  or  occupation;  consequently,  it  is  frequently  held  that 
the  worker  assumes  the  occupational  risk  connected  with  his 
work.  Again,  notwithstanding  laws  requiring  the  employers 
of  labor  to  provide  a  safe  workshop,  and  tools  and  machines 
which  are  not  defective,  some  courts  have  held  that  if  the 
employee  knew  of  negligence  or  of  defects  in  the  machinery 
or  tools  used  by  him,  and  did  not  notify  his  superiors  of  such 
negligence  or  defects,  he  could  not  hold  the  employer  respon- 
sible for  injuries  received.  Furthermore,  if  the  employee  did 


296    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

call  the  attention  of  his  employer  to  the  defect  and  the  latter 
neglected  to  remedy  it,  continuance  at  work  has  been  con- 
sidered by  some  courts  as  evidence  of  the  assumption  of  the 
risk.  Under  the  unmodified  common  law  a  workman  might 
sign,  under  pressure  of  the  necessity  of  obtaining  a  job,  a 
legally  valid  contract  releasing  the  employer  from  all  respon- 
sibility for  accidents.  In  the  case  of  a  mining  company  each 
employee  is  expected  to  sign  a  contract  stating  that  he  is  a 
"thoroughly  competent  and  experienced  workman,"  in  the 
line  of  work  in  which  he  is  engaged.  The  worker  agrees  to 
carefully  examine  practically  all  the  equipment  and  appur- 
tenances of  the  mine  before  exposing  himself  to  the  danger  of 
mining.  In  order  to  live  up  to  the  terms  of  this  contract  it 
would  be  necessary  for  each  worker  to  spend  no  inconsiderable 
amount  of  time  each  working  day  in  ascertaining  the  exact 
condition  of  the  equipment  of  the  mine;  and,  if  he  did  attempt 
to  carry  out  his  part  of  the  agreement,  doubtless  his  discharge 
would  follow.  Court  decisions  as  to  the  legality  of  "con- 
tracting out"  are  somewhat  conflicting.  The  Supreme  Court 
of  the  District  of  Columbia l  has  clearly  recognized  the  right 
of  the  legislative  branch  of  government  to  declare  null  and 
void  contracts  in  which  the  employee  gives  up  his  right  to 
sue  his  employer  for  damages  in  case  of  accident.  In  this 
interesting  decision  the  court  recognized  the  potency  of  the 
economic  pressure  —  the  necessity  of  getting  and  keeping  a 
job — which  led  workmen  to  sign  away  their  rights  to  indem- 
nity. The  court  intimated  that  "a  poor  and  overworked 
class"  should  not  be  "permitted  to  barter  away  its  rights  in 
advance  as  the  mere  price  of  an  opportunity  to  work."  The 
court  also  asserted  that  "the  supposition  is  that  the  employee 
assents  to  the  contract  under  the  stress  of  his  situation  by 
reason  of  his  necessity  to  secure  employment."  The  court 
in  this  decision  took  advanced  grounds  and  displayed  an 

1  Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor.    No.  81,  p.  412. 


\ 


PROTECTIVE  LEGISLATION  FOR  EMPLOYEES       297 

adequate  comprehension  of  the  pressure  which  often  forces 
workmen  to  accept  conditions  detrimental  to  their  best 
interests  and  to  the  interests  of  society.  Legal  restriction 
was  recognized  by  the  court  as  leading  toward  practical  and 
tangible  freedom  through  the  removal  of  economic  pressure. 

The  common  law  doctrine  of  employers'  liability  has  not 
remained  unmodified.  A  large  number  of  states  have  defi- 
nitely specified  in  their  statutes  the  duty  of  the  employer  in 
protecting  his  employees.  These  acts  diminish  the  impor- 
tance of  the  defense  of  "assumption  of  risk"  by  the  employee. 
The  Indiana  statutes,  for  example,  provide  that  if  a  railway 
companyTails  to  furnish  switch  lights  as  required  by  law, 
"no  employee  shall  in  any  case  be  held  to  have  assumed  the 
risk  incurred  by  reason  of  such  violation  or  failure."  A 
IVJidugandecision  is  to  the  effect  that  if  a  mine  owner  violates 
the  law  in  regard  to  safety  appliances  in  his  mine,  the  defense 
of  assumption  of  risk  or  of  the  negligence  of  a  fellow  servant 
cannot  be  offered.  Nearly  a  score  of  states  have  (1909) 
modified  the  fellow  servant  defense;  and  several  have  abol- 
ished it  in  respect  to  employment  on  railways.  The  State  of 
Georgia  passed  such  a  law  in  1856.  According  to  the  common 
law  the  injured  employee  must  prove  that  he  is  not  in  any 
way  responsible  for  the  injury.  A  New  York  statute  (1910) 
reverses  the  situation  and  places  the  burden  of  proof  upon 
the  employer.  Two  other  tendencies  may  be  noticed:  (a) 
the  application  of  the  departmental  theory,  and  (fr)  the_  pas- 
sage of  acts  making  employees  of  higher  rank  vice-principals. 

Under  the  system  of  employers'  liability,  unless  an  agree- 
ment can  be  reached  out  of  court,  the  only  recourse  left  the 
injured  workman  is  to  bring  suit  against  his  employer.  In 
either  case  the  employee  is  at  a  disadvantage.  His  immediate 
necessities  are  pressing,  and  the  ultimate  outcome  of  a  law 
suit  is  very  uncertain.  With  the  enlargement  of  the  indus- 
trial unit  and  the  consequent  disappearance  of  the  personal 


298    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

nexus  between  the  employer  and  the  employee,  injuries  to 
employees  became  more  frequent  and  "enterprising  lawyers 
who  had  no  regard  for  the  traditions  of  the  profession  began 
to  promote  law  suits  by  the  injured  parties  upon  an  agreement 
for  fees  contingent  on  success."  On  the  other  hand,  the 
harassed  employer  soon  found  relief  from  recurrent  litigation 
by  insuring  in  liability  insurance  companies.  For  a  definite 
annual  payment  the  burden  of  defending  suits  in  injury  cases 
was  shouldered  by  the  liability  company;  this  company  also 
assumed  the  responsibility  for  all  payments  made  to  the 
injured  employees.  Skilled  lawyers  were  employed  for  the 
purpose  of  defending  the  company.  Thus  another  link  was 
added  in  the  chain  between  the  injured  workers  and  the 
parties  responsible  for  the  payment  of  damages.  The  in- 
surance companies  are  organized  for  profit;  success  for  the 
officers  and  lawyers  means  little  or  no  compensation  for 
the  injured  employees  of  the  insuring  industrial  corporation. 
At  the  present  time  it  is  customary  for  employers  to  insure 
against  damages  in  case  of  accidents  which  temporarily  or 
permanently  disable  any  of  their  employees. 

Does  this  system  of  employers'  liability  actually  work  out 
to  the  satisfaction  of  either  employer  or  employee?  What 
sort  of  treatment  is  accorded  to  the  injured  workman  and  his 
family?  Are  our  injured  and  slain  industrial  workers  de- 
cently treated?  Is  the  present  system  one  which  protects 
the  injured  worker  and  which  tends  to  prevent  accidents  in 
mines,  factories,  and  workshops?  A  negative  answer  must  be 
returned  to  each  of  these  questions.  The  faults  of  the  system 
are  many  and  grievous,  (i)  Many  industrial  accidents  seem  to 
be  unavoidable  or  clue  to  occupational  risk.  In  an  investiga- 
tion in  Wisconsin,  fifty-two  per  cent,  of  the  accidents  investi- 
gated were  attributed  to  the  hazards  of  the  industry.  The 
cost  of  such  accidents  ought  not  to  be  borne  by  the  injured 
employee  and  his  family;  it  should  be  considered  to  be  part 


PROTECTIVE  LEGISLATION  FOR  EMPLOYEES       299 

of  the  necessary  expenses  of  the  business.  (2)  It  is  often  dif- 
ficult to  prove  negligence  where  negligence  was  the  cause  of  the 
disability.  (3)  Legal  redress  is  expensive.  The  disabled  em- 
ployee often  lacks  sufficient  financial  resources  to  successfully 
prosecute  a  suit.  In  many  cases  necessity  forces  him  to  settle 
out  of  court  and  upon  the  receipt  of  a  mere  pittance.  This 
small  sum  is,  moreover,  immediately  available.  (4)  The  legal 
process  is  slow  and  uncertain.  Compensation  is  needed  soon 
after  the  accident  occurs,  not  one  to  five  years  later.  (5)  The 
economic  waste  connected  with  the  present  system  is  large. 
The  cost  to  the  employer  and  to  the  state  is  much  greater 
than  the  sum  actually  paid  to  workers  injured.  The  statis- 
tician of  the  New  York  Bureau  of  Labor  has  stated  that  in 
1905  the  liability  companies  received  from  employers  in  the 
state  as  premiums,  $4,381,634.  Of  this  sum  only  thirty-five 
per  cent,  reached  the  injured  workers  and  their  families;  sixty- 
five  per  cent,  was  absorbed  by  the  insurance  companies  in 
expenses  and  profits.  About  one-half  of  the  amount  granted 
to  the  disabled  went  to  their  lawyers  in  fees.  Consequently, 
only  about  one  dollar  in  every  six  dollars  paid  in  premiums 
by  the  employers  was  actually  available  for  use  by  the  fam- 
ilies of  the  disabled  employees.  The  Wisconsin  Bureau  of 
Labor  and  Industrial  Statistics  is  responsible  for  the  statement 
that  "the  amount  now  spent  by  employers  probably,  would, 
with  an  economical  administration  of  funds,  pay  considerable 
relief  in  every  case  of  accidents  to  employees,  regardless  of 
negligence."  (6)  The  present  system  of  liability  insurance 
tends  to  increase  friction  between  employer  and  employee. 
The  lawyers  of  the  liability  company  frequently  use  all  avail- 
able means  to  browbeat  and  defeat  the  injured  employee;  and 
the  latter  inevitably  feels  that  his  employer  is  responsible. 
(7)  The  employers'  liability  system  hinders,  rather  than  pro- 
motes, the  prevention  of  industrial  accidents.  It  is  often  to 
the  immediate  interest  of  the  parties  concerned  to  conceal 


300    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

the  facts  regarding  the  causes  of  an  accident.  (8)  Finally, 
and  as  a  consequence  of  the  above  mentioned  defects,  the 
?Jbmpensation  actually  paid  on  the  average  for  injuries  is 
inadequate  to  be  of  material  assistance  to  the  disabled  and  his 
family.  During  the  year  ending  June  30,  1907,  526  fatal  indus- 
trial accidents  occurred  in  Allegheny  County  in  Pennsylvania. 
Miss  Eastman  of  the  Pittsburgh  Survey  investigated  304 
of  these  cases.  In  88  cases  no  compensation  was  received; 
in  93  cases  the  compensation  received  was  less  than  $100;  or 
in  about  sixty  per  cent,  of  the  cases  investigated  the  compen- 
sation received  by  the  family  of  the  injured  worker  was 
nothing  or  less  than  $100.  The  majority  of  these  cases  were 
settled  out  of  court;  suits  were  brought  in  not  more  than 
one  in  every  ten  cases  of  injury.  In  193  cases  of  fatal  acci- 
dents to  married  men  the  payment  made  by  the  company 
was  not  more  than  one-twenty-eighth  of  the  economic  loss  to 
the  family.  The  economic  loss  was  calculated  by  multiply- 
ing the  annual  income  of  the  deceased  breadwinner  by  his 
expectancy  of  life  and  subtracting  $300  a  year  for  the  main- 
tenance of  the  man  killed.  These  are  not  isolated  cases. 
The  Wisconsin  Bureau  of  Labor  and  Industrial  Statistics 
states  that  "a  study  of  individual  cases  shows  that  the 
instances  of  positive  financial  distress  resulting  from  accident 
are  numerous,  and  seldom  are  the  damages  collected 
adequate,"  and  Mr.  Frankel  declares  that  "in  only  a  small 
percentage  of  the  cases  is  the  compensation  adequate." 

W 'orkingmen 's  Compensation  Acts.  The  United  States  has 
the  unenviable  distinction  of  adhering  to  the  theory  of  em- 
ployers' liability  after  nearly  every  other  important  industrial 
country  has  adopted  some  definite  system  of  compensation 
for  accidents  to  employees.  It  is  true  that  we  have  stretched 
and  patched  our  antiquated  scheme  of  employers'  liability, 
but  it  has  proven  to  be  a  vain  endeavor.  The  system  is 
inadequate,  unjust,  and  uneconomical.  By  the  end  of  the 


PROTECTIVE  LEGISLATION  FOR  EMPLOYEES       301 

nineteenth  century  most  of  the  European  countries  had  passed 
compensation  acts.  In  addition  to  definite  and  certain  com- 
pensation in  case  of  accidents,  provision  has  also  bee* 
made  in  a  number  of  countries  for  compensation  in  case  of 
sickness  and  for  old  age  pensions.  Public  opinion  in  this 
country  is  rapidly  crystallizing  in  regard  to  the  matter  of 
providing  for  the  injured,  sick,  and  old  industrial  workers. 
Official  commissions,  unofficial  organizations,  and  students  of 
social  and  industrial  problems  are  investigating  the  problem. 
No  other  problem  in  connection  with  organized  and  unorgan- 
ized labor  is  attracting  more  attention  at  the  present  time. 

Surely  it  is  time  that  the  American  system  of  compensating 
for  industrial  accidents  was  subjected  to  searching  exami- 
nation. At  least|&vjgjiundred  thousand )workers  are  killed  or 
injured  each  year  in  industry.  If  this  estimate  is  approxi- 
mately accurate,  every  time  the  clock  ticks  sixty  seconds 
some  industrial  worker,  performing  his  duty,  is  killed  or  in- 
jured, and  the  conditions  of  home  life  in  some  home  are 
modified.  The  entire  loss  in  the  greatest  of  recent  wars  —  the 
Russo-Japanese  —  is  reported  to  have  been  less  than  350,000 
killed  and  injured.  The  American  people  have  been  liberal 
in  pensioning  soldiers.  Why  not  the  soldiers  of  industry? 
One  of  the  greatest  hardships  in  the  life  of  the  average  wage 
earner  is  uncertainty.  The  question  continually  on  his  lips 
is:  "What  will  become  of  wife  and  children  if  I  am  injured  or 
sick?"  An  adequate  compensation  or  insurance  system  for 
industrial  workers  would  remove  the  cause  of  this  ever-present 
anxiety. 

Insurance  of  property  against  loss  from  fire  or  from  acci- 
dents of  various  kinds  is  an  almost  universal  practice  among 
business  men.  The  cost  of  insurance  is  considered  to  be  a 
regular  and  necessary  expense  of  the  industry;  and  it  is  passed 
on  to  the  consumer  of  the  products  in  the  form  of  higher 
prices.  The  cost  of  wear  and  tear  and  depreciation  of 


302    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

machinery  is  an  integral  part  of  the  ordinary  expenses  of  every 
industrial  establishment.  Why  should  not  compensation  for 
the  broken  arms,  injured  eyesight,  and  maimed  bodies  of 
industrial  workers  become  also  an  integral  part  of  the  expense 
account  of  all  establishments  in  which  accidents  occur? 
Modern  industry,  unfortunately,  requires  a  large  but  reduci- 
ble toll  of  human  life  and  human  limb.  This  toll  should  be 
shouldered  by  the  industry,  and  not  by  the  unfortunate  vic- 
tim and  his  family.  (  The  compensation  system  places  the 
burden  of  accident  where  it  belongs,  —  upon  the  industry.  ) 
Just  what  percentage  of  industrial  accidents  is  preventable 
is,  of  course,  impossible  to  estimate  with  any  approach  to 
accuracy. '  One  estimate  from  a  fairly  trustworthy  source  is 
that  sixty _per  cent,  of  the  industrial  accidents  in  the  United 
States  are  preventable.  Although  the  conditions  surrounding 
coal  mines  in  different  countries  may  be  very  dissimilar,  the 
following  statistics  of  fatal  accidents  in  coal  mining  point  to 
the  conclusion  that  many  fatal  injuries  received  in  American 
coal  mines  are  preventable.1 

Country  Years  Number  of  men  killed 

1,000  men  employed 

United  States    1902-06  —  S-39 

United  States 1908  3.82 

Prussia 1900-04  2.06 

Great  Britain 1902-06  1.28 

Belgium   1902-06  i.oo 

France    1901-05  0.91  - 

Under  a  compulsory  system  of  compensation  for  industrial 
accidents  an  injured  workman  receives  a  definite  payment, 
varying  in  amount  with  the  nature  of  the  injury,  the  wages  of 
the  injured  employee,  and  the  duration  of  the  penocTof 
incapacity.  The  responsibility  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
compensation  or  insurance  fund,  the  industries  in  which  the 

1  Bulletin  of  the  Minnesota  Bureau  of  Labor,  Industries  and  Commerce.  Oct., 
1909,  p.  42.  For  the  United  States,  see  Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor.  No.  90, 
P-  45°- 


PROTECTIVE  LEGISLATION  FOR  EMPLOYEES       303 

system  is  used,  and  the  methods  of  collecting  and  paying 
out  the  fund  vary  in  different  countries.  In  Germany  the 
employer  pays  the  entire  bill,  except  that  the  first  ninety-one 
incapacity  are~treated  as  if  the  injured  employee  was 


suffering  from  disease.  England,  and  France  also  require  the 
entire  payment  to  be  made  by  the  employer.  In  Switzerland 
the  state  contributes  one-half  of  one  per  cent,  of  the  wages; 
of  the  remainder  of  the  expense  of  compensation,  three-quar- 
ters are  borne  by  the  employer.  In  England  the  act  applies  to 
all  industries,  and  disabilities  from  certain  industrial  diseases 
are  treated  the  same  as  disabilities  arising  from  an  accident. 
In  Germany  practically  all  industries  are  included  within 
the  scope  of  the  act.  In  Italy  small  establishments  employ- 
ing five  persons  or  less  are  excluded. 

In  England  the  government  requires  definite  compensation 
for  injuries  to  be  paid  directly  by  the  employer  or  through 
insurance  companies.  In  Germany  payments  are  met  by 
mutual  insurance  associations  of  employers  in  which  the 
employer  is  obliged  to  insure  all  of  his  employees.  Separate 
associations  are  formed  in  each  industry.  The  state  guaran- 
tees the  solvency  of  the  insurance  associations.  Disputes 
are  settled  by  an  ^arbitration  boardjcomposed  of  one  govern- 
ment official,  two  representatives  of  the  employers,  and  two 
from  the  employees.  In  Italy  the  employer  is  compelled  to 
insure  his  employees  in  a  national  insurance  fund,  in  an 
authorized  insurance  company  organized  by  groups  of  em- 
ployers. The  payments  are  guaranteed  by  the  state.  The 
employers  of  Switzerland  pay  premiums  to  the  Government 
Insurance  Bureau.  In  France  and  Russia  the  employers 
may  compensate  the  worker,  or  he  may  insure  in  a  mutual 
or  other  approved  insurance  company.  Under  the  British 
Compensation  Act  the  amount  paid  in  case  of  fatal  accidents 
varies  from  $730^0  $1,460.  After  the  first  week,  in  the  case 
of  non-fatal  accidents,  a  payment  of  not  more  than  fifty  per 
cent,  of  the  wages  is  allowed,  but  the  payment  is  not  to 


304    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

exceed  $4.8^  per  week.  In  Germany  pensions  are  allowed 
to  dependent  heirs.  The  rate  is  not  to  exceed  sixty-five  per 
cent,  of  the  wages  of  the  deceased.  Disabled  workers  receive 
free  medical  treatment,  and  also  compensation  equal  to  one- 
half  of  their  daily  wages,  but  not  to  exceed  seventy-one  cents 
per  day.  In  cases  of  complete  helplessness  the  annual  pay- 
ment may  be  increased  up  to  the  amount  of  the  annual  wages. 

The  advantages  of  the  compensation  system  for  industrial 
accidents  are  practically  the  obverse  of  the  disadvantages  of 
the  system  of  employers'  liability.  A  good  system  (i)  should 
guarantee,  without  the  taint  of  charity,  prompt  and  adequate 
compensation  for  injuries;  (2)  it  should  reduce  the  number  of 
preventable  accidents;  (3)  resort  jto  the  courts  should  be 
eliminated;  (4)  the  extent  of  the  employers'  liability  should 
be  very  definitely  fixed  so  that  the  probable  expense  can  be 
estimated  with  a  fair  degree  of  accuracy;  (5)  a  contract 
waiving  the  right  to  receive  compensation  should  be  null  and 
void;  and  (6)  the  system  should  be  carefully  supervised  by 
competent  officials. 

The  importance  of  the  second  point  can  scarcely  be  over- 
emphasized. The  American  people  are  famous  for  inventions 
which  increase  output  and  "save  labor";  but  they  do  not 
take  high  rank  as  inventors  of  life  and  limb  saving  devices. 
Thought  and  care  have  been  lavished  upon  the  machine;  but 
the  safety  of  the  man  at  the  machine  has  been  neglected. 
Human  life  has  been  rated  very  low  in  this  country.  In 
Germany  each  accident  is  carefully  investigated.  If  the 
employer  is  at  fault  he  may  be  fined  by  the  insurance  associa- 
tion to  which  he  belongs.  Carefulness  is  good  business  in 
Germany.  A  definite  system  of  compensation  like  that  in 
England  or  Germany  will  cause  the  employer  to  take  a  keen 
interest  in  safety  appliances  and  in  the  prevention  of  accidents. 
Factory  Inspector  Davies  of  Illinois  is  responsible  for  the 
statement  that  one  hundred  men  were  killed  or  crippled  for 


PROTECTIVE  LEGISLATION  FOR  EMPLOYEES       305 

life  in  that  state  in  the  year  1906  by  set-screws  which  pro- 
jected from  whirling  shafts.  For  a  small  sum  —  estimated 
to  be  thirty-five  cents  each  —  these  set-screws  could  have 
been  sunk  flush  with  the  surface  of  the  shaft  and  all  danger 
from  this  source  would  have  been  eliminated.  A  compensa- 
tion law  would  have  caused  the  employers  to  see  the  wisdom, 
humanity,  and  economy  in  flush  set-screws.  According  to 
Dr.  John  B.  Andrews,  excellent  matches  can  be  made  without 
using  poisonous  phosphorus  at  an  expense  but  slightly  greater 
than  that  of  matches  tipped  with  the  poisonous  material.  If 
adequate  compensation  laws  were  on  the  statute  books,  in- 
cluding under  their  provisions  generous  compensation  for  the 
disease  which  attacks  phosphorus  match  workers,  the  non- 
poisonous  match  would  soon  be  more  popular  with  manu- 
facturers of  matches.  In  1910  at  least  eleven  Museums  of 
Safety  were  located  in  as  many  prominent  cities  of  Conti- 
nental Europe,  including  Berlin,  Paris,  Vienna,  and  Amster- 
dam. The  American  Museum  of  Safety,  located  in  New 
York  City,  is  the  pioneer  in  America.  The  interest  in  safety 
appliances  in  Europe  and  the  lack  of  interest  manifested 
by  the  average  employer  in  the  United  States  is  not  due 
to  great  differences  in  personal  character;  it  is  primarily  due 
to  differences  in  legal  requirements. 

A  system  of  compensation  for  accidents  makes  it  profitable 
to  be  humane  and  to  protect  employees;  our  system  of  employ- 
ers' liability  with  its  antiquated  fellow  servant  doctrine,  the 
doctrine  of  contributory  negligence,  the  doctrine  of  assump- 
tion of  risk,  and  the  various  legal  technicalities  connected 
with  it,  often  makes  it  seem  profitable  to  be  cruel,  careless, 
and  wasteful  of  human  life  and  limb.  When  accidents  and 
industrial  diseases  become  a  charge  upon  the  business,  a  large 
fraction  of  the  added  expense,  if  there  is  an  additional  expense, 
will,  in  competitive  industries,  be  passed  on  to  the  consumer. 
If  proper  laws  are  passed,  it  will  become  of  direct  economic 


306    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

advantage  to  reduce  industrial  accidents  and  disease.  The 
firm  which  has  more  accidents  than  its  competitors  will  have 
an  extra  expense  to  bear.  Such  legislation  is  scientific.  It  is 
far  better  than  coercive  laws  which  aim  to  force  the  use  of 
safety  appliances.  Under  a  system  of  compensation  safety 
appliances  would  have  an  excellent  sale;  stockholders  would 
look  with  favor  upon  expenditures  for  such  apparatus.  Where 
profits  and  humanitarianism  work  in  opposition  to  each  other 
the  worker  is  likely  to  suffer;  but  put  both  to  work  in  harmony 
and  the  worker  will  receive  more  consideration.  This  bald 
method  of  stating  the  case  may  seem  harsh,  but  it  is  an 
accurate  statement. 

Would  the  courts  rule  that  a  compulsory  insurance  or 
compensation  system  is  constitutional?  Would  not  laws 
establishing  such  a  system  be  declared  to  be  unwarranted 
encroachments  upon  right  to  freedom  of  contract?  Since  such 
a  system  is  not  directly  prohibited  by  the  constitution,  and 
recent  decisions  have  greatly  extended  the  scope  of  the  police 
power,  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  its  establishment  would 
be  upheld  as  a  legitimate  exercise  of  the  police  power.  If  a 
system  of  compulsory  compensation  for  industrial  accidents 
will  tend  to  reduce  and  prevent  pauperism,  distress,  child 
labor,  and  the  fear  of  impending  pauperism,  if  it  will  aid  in 
preventing  the  breaking  up  of  many  families,  will  not  the 
presentation  of  definite  social  facts  and  statistics  showing  the 
evil  of  the  present  situation  and  the  probable  effect  of 
the  proposed  remedy  lead  the  courts  to  uphold  the  validity  of 
such  legislation  upon  the  same  grounds  that  they  have  up- 
held certain  statutes  limiting  the  length  of  the  working  day? 
If  an  eight-hour  day  act  for  miners  and  a  ten-hour  day  law 
for  women  factory  workers  are  constitutional,  is  not  a  com- 
pensation law  also  constitutional?  Social  welfare,  racial 
betterment,  the  protection  of  workers  against  undue  economic 
pressure,  and  the  improvement  of  conditions  in  the  home,  — 


PROTECTIVE  LEGISLATION  FOR  EMPLOYEES       307 

each  and  all  of  these  arguments  may  be  applied  in  both  cases. 
Maryland  in  1902  passed  a  compensation  law,  but  the  bill 
was  badly  drawn.  It  was  declared  unconstitutional;  but  the 
court  did  not  consider  the  legal  merits  or  demerits  of  a  system 
of  compensation  for  industrial  accidents. 

Both  employers  and  employees  are,  as  a  rule,  of  the  opinion 
that  our  system  of  employers'  liability  should  be  replaced  by 
some  adequate  compensation  system.  Differences  appear 
when  the  details  are  discussed.  Many  employers  object  to 
proposals  which  would  place  the  entire  cost  upon  the  employ- 
ers. It  is  pointed  out  that  unless  uniform  laws  were  adopted 
in  different  states  the  imposition  of  the  burden  of  insurance 
would  place  the  employers  of  one  state  at  a  disadvantage 
in  competition  with  those  of  other  states  still  adhering  to  the 
present  system.  The  cost  of  insurance  is,  however,  by  no 
means  wholly  an  added  burden  upon  the  employer.  The 
waste  of  the  present  system  will  go  far  toward  paying  the 
expense  of  an  adequate  system  of  compensation. 

The  state  of  Montana  passed  an  accident  insurance  law 
(1909)  to  cover  injuries  received  by  workers  in  the  coal  mines. 
At  least  eleven  states  are  considering  (1911)  similar  legislation. 
In  Montana  the  money  is  contributed  jointly  ^by  employers 
and  employees.  Employers  are  to  deduct  monthly  one  per 
cent,  of  the  wages  of  employees.  The  amount  thus  collected 
is  turned  over  to  the  state  auditor.  In  addition  they  are  to 
contribute  one  cent  for  each  ton  mined.  In  case  of  death, 
dependents  are  to  receive  $3, COD.  Compensation  in  case  of 
"permanent  disability"  is  provided  at  a  rate  not  to  exceed 
Si.oo  per  day  after  the  expiration  of  twelve  weeks.  The 
compensation  allowed  for  the  loss  of  a  limb  or  of  an  eye  is  one 
thousancL dollars.  The  bill  has  been  criticized  as  a  crude 
piece  of  legislation,  in  that  proper  distinction  is  not  drawn 
between  different  grades  of  injury.1 

1  Lorenz,  The  Survey,  Aug.  21,  1909,  p.  717. 


308    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

On  September  i,  1910,  a  compulsory  compensation  law 
went  into  effect  in  New  York.  This  law  applies  to  a  specified 
number  of  dangerous  employments,  —  the  erection  of  iron 
or  steel  frame  work,  the  operation  of  elevators  and  derricks, 
work  on  scaffolding,  construction  or  repair  work  on  wiring  or 
apparatus  charged  with  electric  currents,  the  operation  of 
steam  and  electric  railways  or  the  construction  or  repair  of 
the  same,  the  construction  of  tunnels  and  subways,  and  a  few 
other  occupations.  In  case  of  a  fatal  injury  the  heirs  of  the 
deceased  employee  are  to  receive  twelve  hundred  times  his 
daily  earnings.  In  case  of  total  or  partial  incapacity,  definite 
provisions  are  made  for  compensation.  The  employer  is 
precluded  from  utilizing  any  of  the  familiar  pleas  used  under 
the  employers'  liability  acts.  This  act  may  be  attacked  as 
involving  the  deprivation  of  property  without  due  process  of 
law.1  Anticipating  that  several  states  will  pass  similar  legis- 
lation in  the  near  future,  at  least  one  insurance  company  has 
drawn  up  an  employers'  liability  policy  with  a  compensation 
clause  attached. 

At  the  fall  election  of  1910  the  voters  of  Oregon  adopted  by 
referendum  a  measure  modifying  the  employers'  liability  in 
that  state.  By  enacting  this  law  the  state  took  a  long  step 
toward  a  compensation  system.  The  statute  provides  that 
all  persons  employing  men  in  the  "construction,  alteration, 
removal,  or  painting  of  any  .  .  .  structure,  or  in  the  erecfcon 
or  operation  of  any  machinery,  or  in  the  manufacture,  tran»* 
mission  and  use  of  electricity,  or  in  the  manufacture  or  u|e  of\ 
any  dangerous  appliance  or  substance"  shall  test  all  material 
and  scaffolding,  shall  protect  by  appropriate  guards  all  dan- 
gerous machinery,  shafts,  and  floor  openings,  and  shall  provide 
proper  insulation  for  electric  wiring.  Provisions  shall  also 
be  made  for  shutting  off  the  entire  power  in  case  of  accident. 

1  In  March,  1911,  this  act  was  declared  unconstitutional  by  the  New  York 
Court  of  Appeals. 


\ 


PROTECTIVE  LEGISLATION  FOR  EMPLOYEES       309 

In  the  event  of  a  failure  to  comply  with  these  requirements 
any  employee  sustaining  an  injury  is  entitled  to  receive 
damages;  and  the  employer  is  precluded  from  recourse  to  the 
customary  defenses  of  the  common  law.  "The  Oregon  law 
does  not  go  as  far  in  the  direction  of  compensation  as  the  New 
York  law,  but  it  is  in  advance  of  that  of  any  other  state  law  in 
laying  down  and  enforcing  by  fine  a  standard  of  accident 
prevention."1 

Maryland  in  1910  passed  a  second  compensation  law  pro- 
viding for  cooperative  insurance.  This  law  was  restricted 
in  scope  to  the  coal  and  clay  miners  of  Allegany  and  Garrett 
counties.  Equal  contributions  are  to  be  made  by  employers 
and  employees  to  a  fund  collected  and  held  by  the  county 
treasurers.  The  county  commissioners  control  the  fund.  In 
case  of  death  the  maximum  award  is  $1,50x3.  A  schedule 
of  awards  for  injuries  is  provided.  If  a  suit  is  brought 
under  the  employers'  liability  laws,  compensation  may  not 
be  received;  but,  if  benefits  are  accepted,  the  right  to  sue 
must  be  waived. 

In  1906  the  United  States  Philippine  Commission  enacted 
a  compensation  law  applicable  to  employees  of  the  insular 
government.  Wages  are  continued  during  disability  because 
of  injuries  for  a  period  not  exceeding  ninety  days.  In  1908 
Congress  passed  a  compensation  act  which  applies  to  "artizans 
and  laborers  employed  by  the  United  States  government 
in  any  of  its  manufacturing  establishments,  arsenals  or  navy- 
yards,  or  in  the  construction  of  river  or  harbor  or  fortification 
work,  or  in  hazardous  employment  on  construction  work 
in  the  reclamation  of  arid  lands  or  the  management  or 
control  of  the  same,  or  in  hazardous  employment  under  the 
Isthmian  Canal  Commission."  The  compensation  for  fatal 
disabling  injuries  is  equal  to  one  year's  earnings.  Injuries 
which  disable  the  worker  for  a  period  of  more  than  fifteen  days 

1  The  Survey,  January  14,  1911. 


310    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

entitle  the  injured  to  compensation,  unless  due  to  the  negli- 
gence of  the  injured  worker.  The  administration  of  the  law 
is  in  the  hands  of  the  Secretary  of  Commerce  and  Labor.  A 
joint  resolution  of  June,  1910,  authorized  the  appointment 
by  the  President  of  a  "Workmen's  Compensation  Commis- 
sion," to  report  to  Congress  not  later  than  December  i, 
19 1 1.1 

Compulsory  Insurance  against  Sickness  and  Old  Age  Pen- 
sions. [  In  Germany,  not  only  is  insurance  against  accident 
compulsory,  but  compulsory  insurance  is  required  against 
sickness  and  old  age.  j  Nearly  all  wage  earners  are  brought 
under  the  provisions  of  these  laws.  Two-thirds  of  the  sick- 
ness insurance  are  paid  by  the  worker  and  one-third  by  the 
employer.  In  1905  nearly  twelve  millions  of  wage  earners 
were  insured  against  sickness;  and  benefits  were  paid  amount- 
ing to  about  sixty  million  dollars.  Toward  the  cost  of  each 
invalidity  and  old  age  pension  the  Imperial  government 
contributes  approximately  twelve  dollars  per  year.  The 
remaining  expense  is  divided  equally  between  the  employer 
and  the  employees.  The  German  system  may  be  called 
"compulsory  contributory  insurance  with  state  subsidy."  ) 
In  1905  the  number  of  persons  insured  against  old  age  and 
invalidity  was  nearly  forty  millions.  On  January  i,  1909, 
about  eight  times  as  many  persons  were  receiving  invalidity 
pensions  as  were  receiving  old  age  pensions.  The  average 
annual  amount  paid  to  each  pensioned  individual  is  about 
thirty-eight  dollars.2  The  burden  of  this  triple  insurance 
system  upon  the  German  employer  is  not  heavy.  The  fol- 
lowing statistics  are  from  a  large  steel  company.  In  1908, 
1,750  persons  were  employed,  — 1,630  workmen  and  120 
office  employees.  The  average  earnings  per  worker  were 
1,633  marks. 

1  Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor.    No.  90,  pp.  677-683. 

2  Dawson,  The  Evolution  of  Modern  Germany,  p.  157. 


PROTECTIVE  LEGISLATION  FOR  EMPLOYEES       311 

Compulsory  contributions  of  employer  per  workman  for  the  year  1908: 

Sickness   12.96  marks 

Accident 28.94 

Old  Age  and  Infirmity  .  9.02 

Total 50.92  mark's  or  3.11  per  cent,  of  the  wages  paid. 

Contributions  of  the  workmen: 

Sickness   26.20  marks 

Old  Age  and  Infirmity  .  9.02 

Total 35-22  marks  or  2.16  per  cent,  of  the  wages  received. 

The  whole  insurance  system  cost  this  large  steel  company 
and  its  employees  only  about  five  and_  one-fourth  per  cent, 
of  the  wages.  Is  it  not  worth  the  cost?  : 

In  1910  France  passed  a  compulsory  insurance  law  some- 
what similar  to  that  of  Germany.  Insurance  is  prescribed 
for  practically  all  workers  of  both  sexes  receiving  wages  less 
than  3,000  francs  per  year.  Employers  and  employees  pay 
premiums  and  the  government  supplements  the  fund.  The 
pensionable  age  is  fixed  at  sixty-five-years ;  in  Germany  the 
age  is  seventyvears.  The  French  law  also  makes  provision 
for  the  widows  and  children  of  deceased  insured  wage 
earners.2 

Austria  and  France  have  adopted  systems  of  sickness  in- 
surance for  certain  classes  of  workers.  Sickness  insurance  is 
compulsory  in  Luxemburg.  England,  Belgium,  Denmark, 
New  South  Wales,  Victoria,  and  New  Zealand  grant  old  age 
pensions  to  necessitous  persons  over  sixty-five  years  of  age 
(seventy  in  England,  sixty  in  Denmark)  "who  have  led  re- 
spectable lives,  and  who  are  believed  to  deserve  assistance  less 
humiliating  in  nature  than  the  ordinary  poor  relief,  from  which 
these  pensions  are  quite  sharply  distinguished."  The  Den- 
mark law  has  been  in  force  since  1891.  Pensions  are  granted 
to  all  needy  applicants  sixty  years  of  age  and  upwards  who 

1  Taussig,  Quarterly  Journal  of  Economics,  November,  1909,  pp.  191-194. 

2  Foerster,  Quarterly  Journal  of  Economics.    Vol.  24  :  763-770. 


312     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

have  received  no  relief  except  hospital  treatment  for  ten 
years.  The  parishes  and  the  central  government  provide  the 
funds;  individuals  do  not  contribute.  The  pension  is  sup- 
posed to  be  sufficient  to  support  the  person  relieved.  In 
Copenhagen,  where  the  cost  of  living  is  relatively  high,  the 
average  pension  for  married  couples_is  .nine  pounds,  five 
shillings;  for  single  persons,  seven  pounds,  nine  shillings  an- 
nually. In  the  rural  districts  the  amount  varies  from  three 
and  one-half  to  five  pounds.  Local  authorities  fix  the  amount 
of  the  annuity.  No  deduction  is  made  for  other  income 
unless  it  exceeds  five  pounds,  eleven  shillings.  Pensions  may 
be  paid  in  cash  or  in  kind,  or  the  pensioner  may  enter  a  home 
for  the  aged.  At  the  end  of  the  year  1901,  60,000  persons  or 
22  per  cent,  of  the  population  above  the  age  limit  were 
receiving  pensions;  13,000  of  this  number  had  dependent 
families. 

The  English  pension  law  went  into  effect  on  January  i, 
1909.  In  its  general  features  it  is  similar  to  the  systems  of 
Denmark  and  New  Zealand.  Pensions  may  be  granted  to 
men  and  women  who  have  attained  the  age  of  seventy  years. 
Pensions  are  paid  out  of  funds  provided  by  Parliament. 
No  contributions  are  required  from  the  pensioners  while  they 
are  self-supporting.  The  pension  is  paid  weekly,  and  a  pen- 
sion is  inalienable.  Every  pensioner  must  have  resided  as  a 
British  subject  in  the  United  Kingdom  for  twenty  years,  and 
must  not  have  received  any  poor  relief  other  than  medical 
and  surgical  assistance.  The  number  of  pensioners  in  1909 
was  over  600,000.  Criminals,  lunatics,  and  inebriates  are 
disqualified.  Character  is  taken  into  account;  a  man  who 
has  failed  to  work  according  to  his  ability  and  opportunity 
may  be  debarred  from  receiving  a  pension.  But  no  person 
can  be  debarred  who  continuously  made  payments  for  ten 
years  before  he  was  sixty  years  of  age  to  trade  unions  maintain- 
ing benefit  systems.  No  one  whose  income  is  over  $160  per 


PROTECTIVE  LEGISLATION  FOR  EMPLOYEES       313 


year  is  entitled  to  a  pension.     The  maximum  pension  is 
per  week. 

In  New  South  Wales  persons  over  sixty  years  of  age  who 
are  incapacitated  from  earning  a  livelihood,  and  persons  over 
sixty-five  years  of  age  are  eligible  to  receive  a  pension.  The 
pensioner  must  have  been  a  resident  of  the  state  for  the  pre- 
ceding twenty-five  years.  The  amount  of  the  pension  is 
(1908)  $126.53  Per  year.  If  a  person  receives  other  income 
or  owns  property,  provision  is  made  for  reducing  this  amount. 
In  1905  nearly  one-half  of  the  persons  over  sixty-five  years  of 
age  received  old  age  pensions.  In  New  Zealand,  New  South 
Wales,  and  Victoria  the  pension  is  paid  by  the  government. 
It  is  considered  to  be  the  duty  of  the  state  to  care  for  the  aged 
and  infirm.  (The  systems  of  Denmark,  England,  and  New 
South  Wales  are  not  insurance  systems.  The  countries  grant 
"partial  non-contributory  pensions."  /The  word  "partial" 
is  used  because  pensions  are  not  granted  to  all  aged  persons. 

A  plea  for  compulsory  sickness  insurance  or  for  old  age 
pensions  is  still  met  in  this  country  by  the  old  cry  of  paternal* 
ism.  Individual  savings  accounts  or  voluntary  insurance  are 
pointed  to  as  the  proper  methods  of  providing  for  sickness  and 
old  age.  Our  industrial  and  political  leaders  are  dominated 
by  the  individualistic  optimism  of  the  so-called  "self-made" 
man  who  completely  overlooks  the  fact  that  revolutionary 
changes  have  occurred  within  the  space  of  a  generation.  Our 
wealthy  and  "self-made"  men  have  repeated  over  and  over 
to  the  rising  generation  and  the  wage  earning  class  the  story 
of  their  start  in  life.  A  graphic  account  is  given  of  the  method 
used  to  earn  the  first  dollar.  Frugality  and  saving  the  pen- 
nies are  the  magic  watchwords.  Viewed  in  the  light  of  such 
testimony,  the  idea  of  compulsory  insurance  and  non-con- 
tributory pensions  looks  Utopian  and  dangerous.  It  would 
seem  that  such  systems  would  inevitably  destroy  self-reliance 
and  make  the  worker  a  "mollycoddle."  If,  however,  a 


314    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

more  searching  examination  is  made  of  the  careers  of  these 
self-made  men,  it  is  usually  discovered  that  the  exploi- 
tation of  natural  resources  and  the  ownership  of  valuable 
privileges  or  franchises,  rather  than  mere  frugality,  fur- 
nished the  basis  of  their  economic  prosperity.  Today  by 
mere  frugality  and  saving  neither  the  wage  earner  nor  the 
average  salaried  man  can  hope  to  become  moderately  well- 
to-do.  In  fact,  he  can  scarcely  save  enough  to  keep  him  in 
his  old  age  without  lowering  his  standard  of  living.  Multi- 
tudes of  families  in  this  country  do  not  receive  sufficient 
income  to  warrant  any  attempt  to  save  for  old  age  or  for  a 
"rainy  day."  In  an  epoch  of  small-scale  industry,  when  com- 
petition was  active  and  the  capillarity  of  classes  was  consider- 
able, an  old  age  pension  scheme  might  and  probably  would 
have  discouraged  thrift  and  foresight.  But  today,  in  an 
advanced  industrial  nation,  the  conditions  of  industrial  life 
and  the  increasing  immobility  of  classes  are  such  as  to  dis- 
courage individual  frugality  and  savings.  Under  such  con- 
ditions the  validity  of  the  argument  that  a  non-contributory 
pension  system  will  discourage  thrift  and  foresight,  may  be 
questioned. 

Sickness  and  old  age  are  prolific  causes  of  dependency.  The 
arguments  in  favor  of  a  system  of  compensation  for  industrial 
accidents  as  a  desirable  and  humane  method  of  reducing  the 
amount  of  want,  suffering,  and  need  of  charitable  aid,  apply 
with  added  strength  in  the  case  of  sickness  insurance  and  old 
age  pensions.  If  wage  earners  cannot,  without  an  undesir- 
able lowering  of  the  standard  of  living,  save  enough  to 
provide  for  periods  of  sickness  and  for  old  age,  surely  the 
government  ought  to  relieve  the  distress  and  by  some  more 
adequate  and  humane  means  than  the  poorhouse.  A  pension 
system  may  reduce  individual  initiative  —  although  it  may 
be  questioned  whether  placing  small  sums  at  occasional 
intervals  in  a  savings  bank  is  very  effective  in  stimulating 


PROTECTIVE  LEGISLATION  FOR  EMPLOYEES       315 

individual  initiative  —  but  it  certainly  will  promote  the 
welfare  of  the  wage  earners.  The  dread  of  the  uncertain 
future  will  be  replaced  by  a  feeling  of  security.  But  it  is 
urged  that  pensioning  wage  earners  will  lead  to  unwise  and 
harmful  expenditure  of  present  income.  Fourscore  years  ago 
Randolph  urged  against  the  establishment  of  free  schools  in 
Virginia  for  similar  reasons.  He  said  that  reduced  expendi- 
tures for  the  education  of  their  children  would  lead  fathers  to 
become  drunkards  and  idlers.  They  would  waste  the  portion 
of  their  income  which  had  hitherto  been  spent  for  tuition  in 
riotous  living.  Randolph  was  mistaken;  and  it  is  not  proven 
that  pensioning  wage  earners  will  cause  an  increase  in  the 
relative  amount  of  unwise  and  harmful  expenditure  of  present 
and  future  income.  On  the  contrary,  uncertainty  as  to  the 
future  and  the  fear  of  future  unemployment  or  of  industrial 
depression  often  lead  wage  earners  to  spend  their  income 
recklessly. 

The  United  States  government  pensions  the  officers  of  the 
regular  army;  cities  are  pensioning  policemen,  firemen,  and 
teachers;  certain  labor  unions  have  organized  pension  sys- 
tems; the  Standard  Oil  Company  and  various  railways  are 
pensioning  certain  grades  of  employees;  and  college  professors 
are  being  pensioned  from  a  fund  established  by  Mr.  Carnegie. 
Descriptions  of  the  various  voluntary  pension  and  benefit 
systems  established  in  the  United  States  may  be  conveniently 
found  elsewhere.1  Brief  mention  will  here  be  given  only  of 
three  different  systems,  —  the  Massachusetts  old  age  annuity 
plan,  the  pension  system  of  the  International  Harvester 
Company,  and  that  of  the  International  ^Typographical 
Union.  The  last  two  are  perhaps  the  best  systems  organized 
by  employers  and  employees  respectively.  Organized  labor 
is  somewhat  distrustful  of  pension  schemes  originated  by 

1  Twenty-third  Annual  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  and  Henderson's 
Industrial  Insurance  in  the  United  States. 


316    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

employing  corporations.  It  is  felt  that,  although  member- 
ship in  the  benefit  societies  is  usually  voluntary,  the 
employee  neglecting  or  refusing  to  join  is  in  danger  of  being 
discriminated  against.  Membership  in  a  benefit  society  will 
also  tend  to  make  employees  conservative,  and  will  weaken 
their  loyalty  to  their  labor  organization.  In  case  of  a  labor 
dispute  the  old  employee  who  is  about  to  be  pensioned  will 
have  a  strong  incentive  to  break  with  his  union,  as  loyalty 
to  the  union  in  case  of  a  strike  may  mean  the  loss  of  the 
opportunity  to  receive  a  pension. 

The  Massachusetts  Old  -Age  Annuity  System.  The  Massa- 
chusetts law  respects  the  traditional  American  predilection 
for  individual  independence  and  for  a  minimum  of  govern- 
mental interference.  The  saving  banks  of  the  state  are  al- 
lowed to  enter  the  insurance  business ;  but  they  are  not  allowed 
to  solicit  business.  The  plan  is  to  reduce  expenses  to  a 
minimum,  and  at  the  same  time  provide  adequate  security. 
"Annuities  and  life  insurance  will  be  furnished  to  the  wage 
earners  at  the  lowest  possible  cost.  The  only  dividends  will 
be  those  paid  to  the  policy  holders  who  will  get  their  equitable 
share  of  all  the  profits  of  the  business."  A  wage  earner  may 
deposit  monthly  a  small  sum.  After  the  depositor  attains 
the  age  of  sixty-five,  an  annuity  will  be  paid,  or  if  he  dies 
before  that  time,  insurance  will  be  paid  to  his  family.  Each 
policy  also  earns  a  share  of  the  profits  of  the  insurance  de- 
partment of  the  bank.  Members  of  the  American  Federation 
of  Labor  urged  the  passage  of  the  act.  The  Massachusetts 
law  provides  for  a  voluntary  annuity  plan. 

The  Industrial  Insurance  and  Pension  Systems  of  the  Inter- 
national Harvester  Company.  The  International  Harvester 
Company  instituted,  in  1908,  a  benefit  association  for  sick 
and  injured  employees,  and  also  a  pension  system  for  its 
aged  employees.  The  management  of  the  benefit  association 
is  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  Board  of  Trustees  consisting  of 


PROTECTIVE  LEGISLATION  FOR  EMPLOYEES       317 

thirty  persons,  —  one-half  of  whom  are  chosen  by  the  Board 
of  Directors  of  the  company  and  the  remaining  one-half  by 
the  employees.  The  Board  is  authorized  to  choose  a  super- 
intendent who  shall  act  as  the  executive  head  of  the  benefit 
association.  All  employees  are  eligible  to  membership. 
When  the  system  was  inaugurated  every  employee  who  ap- 
plied was  admitted;  but  after  January  i,  1909,  it  became 
necessary  for  each  employee  to  satisfactorily  pass  a  medical 
examination.  If  the  applicant  is  over  forty-five  years  of 
age,  the  death  benefit  is  reduced  to  one  hundred  dollars. 

Both  employees  and  the  company  contribute  to  the  insur- 
ance fund.  The  workmen  contribute  twojjex  cent,  of  their 
wages.  The  company  binds  itself  to  contribute  $25,000 
annually  if  the  average  membership  during  the  year  of  the 
benefit  association  equals  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  total  number 
of  the  employees  of  the  company,  and  $50,000  annually  if  the 
membership  reaches  seventy-five  per  cent,  of  the  total  number 
of  employees.  In  the  case  of  sickness  a  member  receives, 
after  the  first  seven  days,  for  a  period  not  longer  than  fifty- 
two  weeks,  a  payment  equal  to  one-half  the  member's  average 
wage.  This  average  wage  is  computed  on  the  basis  of  the 
last  sixty  days  preceding  the  disability.  In  the  case  of  acci- 
dent the  rate  of  compensation  is  the  same,  but  payments  date 
from  the  time  of  receiving  the  injury.  Compensation  is 
made  whether  the  injury  was  received  while  on  or  off  duty. 
The  death  benefit,  when  death  results  from  sickness,  is  equal 
to  one  year's  "average"  wage;  from  accident,  two  years' 
"average"  wage.  Special  benefits  are  allowed  in  the  case  of 
specific  serious  accidents.  For  example,  in  case  a  member 
loses  the  sight  of  both  eyes,  payment  equivalent  to  two  years' 
"average"  wage  is  to  be  made.  No  benefits  are  allowed 
when  disability  is  due  to  intoxication  or  to  venereal  diseases, 
or  in  case  of  injuries  received  in  a  brawl,  or  in  a  saloon  or 
disreputable  house.  Members  do  not  surrender  any  legal 


3i8    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

rights  in  accepting  benefits.  In  1910  the  company  offered 
a  more  definite  system  of  compensation  for  accidents.  If  the 
terms  of  compensation  for  injury  or  death  are  accepted  by 
the  employee,  he  is  required  to  release  the  company  from 
further  responsibility.  In  the  case  of  death  from  accident 
three  years'  "average"  wages  are  to  be  paid;  but  the  amount 
shall  not  be  less  than  $1,500  or  more  than  $4,000. 

This  company  also  instituted,  in  1908,  a  pension  system 
for  aged  employees.  The  administration  of  the  pension 
system  is  in  the  hands  of  a  Board  of  five  officers  and  employ- 
ees of  the  company  chosen  by  the  Board  of  Directors.  The 
funds  available  are  appropriated  by  the  company.  Provi- 
sion is  made  for  the  retirement  of  male  employees  at  the  age  of 
sixty-five  who  have  been  in  the  service  of  the  company  twenty 
or  more  years;  and  of  female  employees  at  the  age  of  fifty 
who  have  been  in  the  service  twenty  or  more  years.  The 
pension  allowance  depends  upon  the  wages  received  and  upon 
the  length  of  service  in  the  employment  of  the  company.  One 
per  cent,  of  the  average  annual  wage  paid  during  the  ten 
years  immediately  preceding  retirement  is  allowed  for  each 
year  of  active  service;  but  no  pension  shall  be  less  than  $18.00 
per  month  or  more  than  $100.00  per  month.  For  example, 
if  the  average  wage  for  the  last  ten  years  of  service  was  $600 
per  year,  and  the  pensioner  had  been  in  the  service  of  the 
company  for  twenty-five  years,  the  pension  would  be  25  per 
cent,  of  $600,  or  $150  per  year,  or  $12.50  per  month.  How- 
ever, since  the  minimum  payment  is  fixed  at  $18.00  per  month, 
the  latter  sum  would  be  paid  the  pensioner. 

Pension  System  of  the  International  Typographical  Union. 
The  International  Typographical  Union  is  composed  of  locals 
in  the  United  States  and  Canada.  In  its  annual  convention 
at  Hot  Springs  in  1907,  this  organization  adopted  a  scheme 
for  granting  old  age  pensions  to  its  members.  As  this  plan  was 
submitted  as  an  amendment  to  the  constitution,  it  was  subject 


PROTECTIVE  LEGISLATION  FOR  EMPLOYEES       319 

to  a  referendum  vote.  The  sentiment  among  the  members  was 
very"  s'trong  in  its  favor,  and  the  amendment  was  adopted  by 
a  large  majority;  the  vote  was  17,177  in  favor  of  the  pension 
system  to  9,914  opposed.  Eligible  applicants  for  a  pension 
must  be  at  least  sixty^years  of  age,  and  must  have  been  for 
twenty  consecutive  years  members  of  the  International  Typo- 
graphical Union.  In  addition  two  other  qualifications  are 
required:  (a)  each  applicant  must  be  earning  less  than  four 
dollars  per  week,  and  (6)  he  must  have  no  other  income  or 
means  of  support.  The  amount  of  the  weekly  payment  is 
four  dollars.  The  revenue  for  the  pension  fund  is  derived 
from  an  assessment  of  one-half  of  one  per  cent,  upon  the 
earnings  of  the  members  of  the  union.  Since  1892  the 
International  has  paid  burial  benefits  ranging  from  fifty  dol- 
lars in  1892  to  seventy-five  in  1908.  The  organization  also 
opened,  in  1892,  at  ColoradcPSprings,  a  home  for  disabled 
printers.  The  average  number  of  inmates  for  the  year  1908 
was  one  hundred  and  fifty.  The  Amalgamated  Society  of 
Carpenters  and  Joiners,  the  Amalgamated  Society  of  Engi- 
neers, and  the  Granite  Cutters'  International  Union  also  have 
superannuation  benefit  systems.  Several  other  national 
unions  have  provided  for  such  systems  to  become  operative 
at  some  future  date. 

The  American  Association  for  Labor  Legislation.  This 
association  is  a  branch  of  the  International  Association  for 
Labor  Legislation.  It  was  founded  in  1906.  According  to 
its  constitution  it  aims  "to  promote  the  uniformity  of  labor 
legislation  in  the  United  States"  and  "to  encourage  the  study 
of  labor  legislation."  The  lack  of  uniformity  in  legislation 
among  our  forty-odd  states  has  been  a  serious  evil.  Much  of 
this  lack  of  uniformity  has  been  due  to  the  absence  of  informa- 
tion as  to  what  had  been  accomplished  in  other  states  and 
nations.  This  association  is  doing  an  important  work  in 
giving  to  the  public  accurate  monographs  on  comparative 


320    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

legislation,  definite  facts  as  to  industrial  diseases  and  the 
effect  of  night  work  upon  workers,  and  a  variety  of  informa- 
tion as  to  industrial  conditions.  Several  state  branches  have 
been  organized  for  active  legislative  work.  These  branches 
are  expected  to  follow  all  proposed  labor  legislation  before 
the  state  legislatures,  and  to  oppose  unwise  measures  and 
endorse  desirable  ones. 


REFERENCES  FOR  FURTHER  READING 

The  labor  laws  of  the  various  states  may  be  found  in  the  Twenty- 
second  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor,  and  in  Bulletin  of  the  Bureau 
of  Labor.  No.  85.  See  also  the  publications  of  the  American  Association 
for  Labor  Legislation.  Important  courts  decisions  affecting  labor  are 
to  be  found  in  various  Bulletins  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor. 

Low,  "History  of  British  Labor  Legislation,"  Bulletin  of  the  Bureau 
of  Labor.  No.  70. 

Cheyney,  Industrial  and  Social  History  of  England.     Ch.  9. 

Kelley,  Some  Ethical  Gains  through  Legislation. 

Freund,  The  Police  Power. 

Stimson,  Labor  in  its  Relation  to  Law. 

Eaves,  History  of 'Labor  Legislation  in  California. 

Adams  and  Sumner,  Labor  Problems.     Ch.  12. 

Clark,  "Labor  Laws  Declared  Unconstitutional,"  Bulletin  of  the 
Bureau  of  Labor.  No.  91. 

Weber,  "International  Movement  for  Labor  Legislation,"  Charities 
and  the  Commons.  Vol.  17  :  833-838. 

Groat,  Freund,  and  others,  "Labor  and  the  Courts,"  Proceedings  of 
the  Third  Annual  Meeting  of  the  American  Association  for  Labor  Legisla- 
tion (1909). 

Greeley,  "Changing  Attitude  of  the  Courts,"  The  Survey.  September 
3,  iQio. 

Groat,  "Unionism  and  the  Courts,"  Yale  Review.     Vol.  19:  144-158. 

Groat,  "Restriction  of  Women's  Hours  of  Labor,"  Political  Science 
Quarterly.  Vol.  25  :  420-434. 

Seager,  "The  Courts  on  Restrictive  Labor  Laws,"  Political  Science 
Quarterly.  Vol.  19:  589-611. 

Commons,  Trade  Unionism  and  Labor  Problems,  pp.  156-194,  482-526. 


PROTECTIVE  LEGISLATION  FOR  EMPLOYEES       321 

Clark,  "Employers'  Liability  in  the  United  States,"  Bulletin  of  the 
Bureau  of  Labor.  No.  74. 

Henderson,  Industrial  Insurance  in  the  United  States. 

"Industrial  Accidents  and  Workingmen's  Compensation,"  Bulletin 
of  the  Minnesota  Bureau  of  Labor,  Industries  and  Commerce  (1909-1910). 

"  Industrial  Insurance,"  Report  of  the  Wisconsin  Bureau  of  Labor  and 
Industrial  Statistics,  1908. 

Report  of  the  Committee  Regarding  Legislation  Regulating  the  Liability 
of  Employers.  Connecticut,  1909. 

Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor.  No.  go.  Contains  articles  on  "  Recent 
Action  Concerning  Accident  Compensation,"  "Foreign  Workmen's 
Compensation  Acts,"  and  "Cost  of  Industrial  Accident  Insurance." 

Eastman,  Work-Accidents  and  the  Law. 

Eastman,  "One  Year's  Work  Accidents  and  their  Cost,"  Chanties 
and  the  Commons.  March  6,  1909. 

Lorenz,  "The  Industrial  Insurance  Problem  in  Wisconsin,"  La  Fol- 
lette's  Magazine.  July  10,  1909. 

Hard,  Injured  in  the  Course  of  Duty.  A  reprint  of  articles  which 
originally  appeared  in  Everybody's  Magazine. 

"Workingmen's  Insurance  and  Benefit  Systems  in  the  United  States," 
Twenty-third  Annual  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor. 

"Workingmen's  Insurance  and  Compensation  Systems  in  Europe," 
Twenty-fourth  Annual  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor. 

Frankel  and  Dawson,  Workingmen's  Insurance  in  Europe. 

Hillquit,  Socialism  in  Theory  and  Practice,  pp.  254-268. 

Dawson,  The  German  Workman.     Chs.  3  and  15. 

Tolman,  American  Industries.     May,  1910;  February,  1911. 

Baldwin,  "Old  Age  Pension  Schemes,"  Quarterly  Journal  of  Economics. 
Vol.  24:  713-742. 

A  valuable  short  study  of  industrial  accidents  and  compensation  can 
be  found  in  The  Survey,  May  14,  1910. 

Reeves,  State  Experiments  in  Australia  and  New  Zealand. 


' 


CHAPTER  XI 

IMMIGRATION 

THE  immigration  from  foreign  countries  is  of  direct  import 
^to  the  wage  earners  of  the  United  States,  because  it  increases 
)the  supply  of  workers,  because  the  incoming  workers  may 
possess~a  lower  standard  of  living  than  the  native  workman 
thus  endangering  the  existing  scale  of  wages,  and  because 
such  immigration  may  increase  subdivision  of  labor  and  thus 
modify  working  conditions.  Less  directly  immigration  will 
affect  the  wage  earners  by  modifying  the  character  of  labor 
organizations,  by  introducing  new  factors  into  state,  local, 
and  national  politics,  and  by  increasing  racial  differences. 

History.  Definite  records  of  immigration  to  the  United 
States  begin  with  the  year  i82o._  Before  that  date  no  accurate 
statistics  are  available.  Nevertheless,  it  may  be  assumed 
that  immigration  was  inconsiderable  and  that  the  natural 
rate  of  increase  of  the  population  was  not  small.  In  1751 
Benjamin  Franklin  estimated  that  the  one  million  inhabitants 
of  the  Colonies  were  the  descendants  of  immigrants  not  ex- 
ceeding eighty  thousand  in  number.  From  1776,  the  year  in 
which  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  signed,  to  1820 
there  were  few  incentives  for  immigration  into  this  newly 
organized  nation.  A  commonly  accepted  estimate  of  the 
total  immigration  from  1776  to  1820  fixed  the  number  at 


After  1820  westward  expansion  became  rapid,  and  Ameri- 
can industrial  advance  began.  A  graphic  chart  showing  the 
number  of  immigrants  coming  to  this  country  during  the 
nine  decades  subsequent  to  1820  presents  a  wave-like  appear- 

322 


IMMIGRATION  323 

ance.1  Each  succeeding  wave  is,  with  one  exception,  higher 
than  the  one  which  preceded  it.  The  first  wave  reached  its 
highest  point  in  the  fiscal  years  1836.  and  1837, .  The  second 
wave  culminated  in  1851  to  1854;  the  third  in  1866  to  1873; 
the  fourth  in  1882;  and  the  fifth  in_i8o,2.  The  sixth  and 
mightiest  wave  reached  a  maximum  in/tQO?.)  The  number  of 
immigrants  in  1837  was  79,380;  in  1854,  427,833;  in  1873, 
459,803;  in  1882,  788,992;  in  1892,  579,663;  in  1907,  1,285,- 
349. 2  Following  the  crest  of  each  wave  is  a  period  in  which 
the  number  of  immigrants  is  reduced.  The  low  water  marks 
are  found  in  the  years  ^838,  1862,  1878,  1886,  and  1898,  The 
figures  for  these  years  are  38,914,  72,183,  138,469,  334,203, 
and  223,299  respectively.  In  1909  the  number  of  immi- 
grants was  751,786  or  533,563  less  than  in  1907,  the  year  of 
maximum  immigration  up  to  the  present  time.  In  1910, 
1,041,570  were  admitted. 

Since  1820  nearly  thirty  millions  of  Europeans  have  mi- 
grated to  this  country.  This  stream  of  human  beings  is 
larger  than  was  the  total  population  of  the  United  States  in 
1850;  it  is  almost  equal  to  the  number  of  people  dwelling 
within  our  borders  when  Abraham  Lincoln  was  elected  Presi- 
dent. During  the  year  1910  the  number  of  immigrants 
coming  to  our  shores,  many  of  whom  were  seeking  homes  and 
were  destined  to  become  citizens  and  the  parents  of  future 
citizens,  was  greater  than  the  population  of  three  of  the 
eastern  states,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  and  Delaware;  it 
exceeded  in  amounT~ftle~  population  of  five  young  western 
commonwealths,  Idaho,  Wyoming,  New  Mexico,  Arizona, 
and  Nevada.  In  1910  only  twenty-seven  states  exceeded 
in  population  the  number  of  immigrants  who  filed  past  our 
immigration  officials  in  one  year,  1907.  That  incoming  horde 
was  equal  to  one-third  of  the  total  population  reported  by 

1  See  Chart  I  in  the  Report  of  the  Commissioner-General  of  Immigration  (1909). 

2  The  figures  for  years  preceding  1867  are  for  "Alien  Passengers." 


the  officials  of  the  first  census  (1790).  In  the  words  of  Pro- 
fessor Ripley,  "we  have  to  do,  not  with  the  slow  processes  of 
growth  by  deposit  or  accretion,  but  with  violent  and  volcanic 
dislocation.  We  are  called  upon  to  survey  a  lava-flow  of 
population,  suddenly  cast  forth  from  Europe  and  spread  in- 
discriminately over  a  new  continent." 

The  total  immigration  during  a  given  time  is  always  more 
than  the  net  gain  because  many  immigrants  return  each  year 
to  their  home  country.  Accurate  statistics  of  emigrant 
aliens  were  not  taken  until  the  fiscal  year  of  1908.  During 
that  year  the  alien  immigration  amounted  to  782,870,  and 
the  alien  emigration  to  395,073;  or  the  net  gain  through 
immigration  was  387,797.  The  Bureau  of  Immigration  has 
estimated  that  the  net  immigration  (that  is,  the  total  immi- 
gration minus  emigration)  for  the  ten  year  period  ending 
June  30,  1908,  was  68  per  cent,  of  the  total  immigration  for 
that  period.  Durfngt!iellllrecent  period  of  depression  the 
outward  flow  became  considerable.  From  November  22, 
1907,  to  January  i,  1908,  103,848  persons  are  reported  to 
have  sailed  third  class  from  the  ports  of  the  United  States 
and  Canada  for  Europe. 

Causes.  The  rise  and  fall  of  the  immigration  waves  are 
very  closely  connected  with  the /"phenomenon  of  prosperity 
and  depressionVn  this  country.  Other  forces  act  so  as  to 
change  the  course  of  immigration,  but  the  connection  between 
prosperity  and  influx  of  immigrants  is  evident  even  to  the 
casual  observer.  The  years  tracing  the  high  water  mark  of 
immigration  are  almost  invariably  preceded  by  epochs  of 
prosperity  and  of  business  expansion,  and  are  as  invariably 
followed  by  years  of  depression  and  of  business  retrenchment. 
The  wave  culminating  in  1854  seems  to  have  been  an  excep- 
tion to  this  statement.  In  that  case  the  ending  of  acute 
political  and  economic  disturbance  in  Europe  and  the  Know- 
Nothing  agitation  in  the  United  States  operated  to  cause  a 


IMMIGRATION  325 

marked  diminution  in  the  amount  of  immigration  in  the  midst 
of  a  period  of  prosperity  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  The 
small  immigration  in  the  fiscal  year  of  1862  is  due  to  abnormal 
conditions  accompanying  the  Civil  War.  A  curve  repre- 
senting imports  per  capita  presents  almost  the  same  wave- 
like  appearance  as  does  that  of  immigration.  The  year  1857 
rather  than  1854  marks  the  crest  of  the  wave  corresponding 
to  the  immigration  wave  culminating  in  the  latter  year. 

[Political  and  religious  persecutions] have  played  an  import- 
ant part  in  stimulating  the  migration  of  people  to  America 
which  has  been  so  often  and  so  vividly  painted  as  a  haven  of 
refuge  for  the  weak  and  oppressed  of  all  nations.  Persecution 
was  a  potent  factor  in  the  colonization  of  the  Atlantic  coastal 
plain.  Puritans,  Roman  Catholics,  Quakers,  and  Scotch- 
Irish  migrated  to  escape  persecution  and  to  reach  a  locality 
where  they  might  be  free  from  the  fetters  of  European  tyranny. 
After  the  revolutionary  disturbances  hi  Germany  large 
numbers  of  political  liberals  came  to  this  country.  In  1850, 
63,182  alien  passengers  were  reported  as  coming  from  Ger- 
many; in  1852,  145^918;  and  in  1854,  215,009.  _The  following 
year  the  number  abruptly  dropped  to  71,918.  The  immigra- 
tion from  Germany  in  1882  was  250,630;  this  is  the  only  year 
in  which  the  influx  exceeded  that  of  ^1854.  In  1907  Germany 
only  contributed  37,807.  Many  Russians,  Jews,  and  Poles 
have  migrated  to  our  shores  because  of  religious  and  political 
persecution.  The  desire  to  escapeCcompulsory  military  ser- 
vice J  has  also  been  a  factor  in  inducing  migration  to  this 
country. 

Ariother  cause  is  found  in  theQow  wages  and  bad  economic 
conditions^  in  certain  European  countries.  The  great  migra- 
tion of  Irish  from  1847  to  ^54  was  induced  by  the  suffering 
in  connection  with  the  potato  famine  and  the  landlord  sys- 
tem. During  this  period  of  eight  years  nearly  1,200,000  Irish 
crossed  Jhe  Atlantic  to  seek  homes  in  America.  Others  were 


326    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

attracted  by  the  possibility  of  obtaining  farm  land.  In  re- 
cent years  the  man  from  southern  Europe  has  been  induced 
to  leave  his  native  land  because  of  the  high  money  wage  paid 
in  the  United  States.  The  fundamental  causes  of  immigration 
to  the  United  States  since  1820  are  found  in  the  apparent 
contrast  between  political  and  religious  persecution  or  oppres- 
sion in  the  Old  World,  and  religious  and  political  tolerance 
and  freedom  in  the  United  States;  and  also  in  the  apparent 
contrast  between  the  economic  and  labor  conditions  in  the 
old  and  exploited  countries  of  Europe  and  the  young  nation 
of  the  New  World,  abounding  in  land  and  undeveloped 
resources. 

In  addition  to  the  underlying  causes  of  immigration  are 
several  secondary  forces  which  have  materially  increased  the 
total  volume  of  migration.  (The  ease  of  transportation  and 
communication)in  recent  years  has  increased  the  amount  of 
immigration.  It  is  no  longer  a  dangerous  and  trying  experi- 
ence to  cross  the  ocean.  The  trip  can  be  made  quickly, 
cheaply,  and  surely.  Immigration  is  no  longer  restricted  to 
the  self-reliant,  the  ambitious,  and  the  forceful.  While  on 
the  journey,  the  immigrant  is  looked  after  and  directed,  and 
after  he  lands  a  job  is  found  for  him.  "The  sea  formerly 
acted  as  a  sieve,  now  the  meshes  let  through  every  species 
of  voyager."  Steamship  companies  have  thousands  of  agents 
eager  to  stimulate  immigration  from  the  various  European 
countries  to  the  United  States.  "Runners"  go  from  village 
to  village  in  southern  Europe  attempting  to  induce  the  natives 
to  emigrate.  These  men  are  paid  commissions  by  the  steam- 
ship companies.  Boarding  house  keepers,  liquor  dealers, 
and  others  whose  business  brings  them  in  contact  with  many 
people  are  utilized  as  sub-agents.  An  investigation  by  a 
special  agent  of  the  Bureau  of  Immigration  shows  "that  all 
of  the  steamship  lines  engaged  in  bringing  aliens  from  Europe 
to  this  country  have  persistently  and  systematically  violated 


IMMIGRATION  327 

the  law,  both  in  its  letter  and  spirit,  by  making  use  of  every 
possible  means  to  encourage  the  peasants  of  Europe  to  pur- 
chase tickets  over  their  lines  to  this  country." l  Many  Amer- 
ican employers  of  labor  are  also  very  anxious  to  increase  the 
volume  of  immigration.  Professor  Commons  has  well  said: 
"The  desire  to  get  cheap  labor,  to  take  the  passenger  fares, 
and  to  sell  land  have  probably  brought  more  immigrants  than 
the  hard  conditions  of  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa  have  sent." 
The  demand  for  cheap  labor  and  for  profits,  brought  to  our 
shores  the  negro  slave  and  the  indentured  white  servant;  and 
it  greatly  stimulated  the  immigration  of  unskilled  labor  dur- 
ing and  immediately  following  the  Civil  War.  It  is  an  ever- 
present  and  potent  force;  but  the  old  method  of  kidnaping 
people  and  shipping  them  to  Colonial  America  is  now  replaced 
bv  more  genteel  and  less  direct  methods. 

{The  presence  of  friends  and_relatives^ in  this  country  is 
another  cause  of  immigration.  It  is  estimated  that  at  least 
one-third  of  the  total  number  of  immigrants  is  assisted  by 
friends.  Of  the  751,786  immigrants  admitted  in  the  fiscal 
year  ending  June  30,  1909,  over  228,000  stated  that  their 
passage  was  paid  by  relatives  or  others.  Of  course,  this 
factor  is  peculiarly  effective  in  times  of  prosperity.  On  the 
other  hand,  during  an  era  of  depression  intending  immigrants 
will  be  discouraged  by  their  over-sea  friends.  Before  the 
passage  of  the  acts  of  1875,  1882,  and  1891,  foreign  govern- 
ments, and  particularly  local  authorities,  were  often  guilty 
of  dumping  members  of  the  delinquent,  dependent,  and 
defective  classes  upon  our  shores. 

Changes  in  the  Nationality  of  Immigrants.  Before  1880 
immigration  to  the  United  States  was  confined  chiefly  to  the 
countries  of  fToTth-western  Europe.  Great  Britain,  Ireland, 
and  Germany  furnished  a  large  percentage  of  the  total  influx. 
Southern  and  south-eastern  Europe  sent  few  immigrants 
1  Report  of  Commissioner-General  for  1909,  p.  112. 


328    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

previous  to  the  opening  of  the  decade  of  the  eighties.  The 
people  coming  before  1880  were  not  dissimilar  to  the  early 
American  colonists.  The  early  immigrants  were  accustomed 
to  a  representative  form  of  government,  they  were  Protes- 
tants, they  were  skilled  artisans  or  progressive  farmers  of  the 
thrifty,  self-reliant  type,  and  finally  they  were  of  Teutonic 
origin. 

Since  1880  the  tide  of  immigration  has  begun  to  flow  from 
southern  and  so*th-eastern  Europe,  bringing  to  our  shores 
men  and  women  of  very  different  characteristics  and  possibili- 
ties. The  typical  immigrants  of  the  last  two  decades  are 
accustomed  to  a  modified  form  of  autocratic  government, 
they  adhere  to  the  Roman  Catholic  faith,  they  are  unskilled 
artisans  or  primitive  agriculturalists  not  far  removed  from 
serfdpm,  and  they  are  not  self-reliant,  but  accustomed  to 
blindly  obey  those  in  authority.  In  1904  an  officer  of  the 
Bureau  of  Immigration  who  had  been  conducting  an  investi- 
gation in  Europe  presented  the  situation  in  a  nutshell.  "The 
average  emigrant  of  today  is  sadly  lacking  in  that  courage, 
intelligence,  and  initiative  which  characterized  the  European 
people  who  settled  in  the  Western  States  in  the  eighties."  Dur- 
ing the  decade  1851-1860  Germany,  Great  Britain,  and  Ireland 
furnished  88  per  cent,  of  the  total  immigration,  while  Austria- 
Hungary,  Italy,  Russia,  and  Poland  sent  only  four-tenths 
of  one  per  cent.  During  the  decade  1881-1890,  the  percent- 
ages were  55.6  and  17.6  respectively.  Then  the  balance 
turned.  Free  land  was  disappearing;  and  our  famous  west- 
ward moving  frontier  line  had  vanished.  The  days  of  the 
pioneer  and  the  backwoods  farmer  had  become  historic  rather 
than  actual.  Centralized  and  subdivided  industry  —  rail- 
way, mine,  and  factory  —  were  calling  for  the  unskilled  and 
docile  peasant  worker  of  southern  Europe.  During  the 
decade  1891-1900  the  three  countries  o'f  northern  Europe 
only  sent  31.6  per  cent,  of  the  total,  while  Austria-Hungary, 


IMMIGRATION  329 

Italy,  Russia,  and  Poland  furnished  slightly  more  than 
one-half  of  the  entire  stream.  In  1909  the  figures  are 
approximately  13  and  63  per  cent,  respectively. 

The  warp  and  woof  of  American  civilization  is  inevitably 
modified  by  such  a  striking  change  in  the  character  of  the 
immigration  into  this  country.  It  presages  far-reaching 
modifications  in  our  industrial,  political,  and  social  fabric. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  changing  nature  of  the  stream  of  immi- 
gration is  in  no  small  measure  the  inevitable  result  of  the 
important  industrial  transformations  which  have  taken  place 
since  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War.  Our  complex,  subdi- 
vided, and  routinized  industrial  mechanism  provides  positions 
for  the  man  without  initiative,  for  the  "beaten  men  from 
beaten  races."  The  small  shop  and  the  farm  of  the  ante- 
trust  days  could  not  utilize  the  men  who  work  only  according 
to  orders  given  by  the  foreman  or  the  overseer.  Modern 
economic  progress  has  made  a  place  for  the  man  from  south- 
ern Europe;  on  the  other  hand,  his  presence  and  the  ease 
with  which  immigration  can  be  stimulated,  has  hastened  the 
development  of  the  complex,  large-scale  industry  with  its 
minute  subdivision  of  labor.  The  presence  in  America  of 
large  numbers  of  men  and  wromen  from  southern  Europe  is 
both  a  cause  and  an  effect  of  the  far-reaching  industrial  and 
social  changes  of  recent  decades. 

Early  Opposition  to  Immigration.  Opposition  to  immigra- 
tion is  by  no  means  of  recent  origin.  It  has  not  developed 
solely  because  of  the  recent  influx  of  the  men  from  southern 
Europe  and  Asia.  The  debates  in  the  Constitutional  Con- 
vention of  i  ?8_i_  disclose  some  fear  of  the  political  influence 
of  the  foreign  settler.  The  constitution  specifies  that  no 
person  may  156*  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
who  has  not  been  a  citizen  of  the  UnitedJStates  for  s^ven 
years;  or  a  senator  without  a  citizenship  extending  over  a 
period  of  nine  years.  Still  more  clearly  is  the  distrust  of  the 


330    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

foreigner  expressed  in  the  clause  which  debars  foreign-born 
citizens  from  the  office  of  President.  Washington  did  not 
favor  immigration;  and  Jefferson  wished  to  stop  all  immigra- 
tion. During  the  administration  of  John  Adams  a  law  was 
passed  requiring  a  residence  of  fourteen  years  before  natural- 
ization. This  severe  requirement  was  removed  under  the 
following  administration.  The  alien  and  sedition  laws,  also 
passed  under  Adams'  administration,  bear  further  testimony 
to  the  hatred  of  the  federalists  for  the  alien.  Gouverneur 
Morris  did  not  believe  that  a  man  could  become  firmly  at- 
tached to  an  adopted  country.  The  Hartford  Convention  in 
1814  desired  to  make  every  person  thereafter  naturalized 
ineligible  to  hold  any  civil  office  under  the  federal  government. 
The  Convention  held  that  the  population  of  the  United 
States  was  then  "amply  sufficient  to  render  this  nation 
in  due  time  sufficiently  great  and  powerful."  This  early 
feeling  of  opposition  to  the  influx  of  foreign  elements  appears 
to  have  been  due  to  an  anticipation  of  political  dangers.  It 
was  felt  that  the  newly  organized  republican  institutions 
might  be  undermined  and  destroyed  by  the  votes  and 
influence  of  people  from  monarchical  Europe. 

With  the  increase  of  immigration  which  came  in  the  thirties, 
nativistic  sentiment  grew  rapidly.  Ireland  and  Germany  con- 
tributed a  large  percentage  of  the  immigration  of  the  thirties. 
In  1836  the  number  of  immigrants  from  Ireland  was  .30,^78 
and  from  Germany,  20,707;  these  two  countries  sent  51,285 
out  of  a  total  of  76,242  immigrants.  Racial  and  religious 
differences  generated  antagonism  between  the  newcomers  and 
those  already  here.  It  was  also  asserted  that  England  was 
"shoveling"  her  paupers  upon  American  cities.  In  1832 
Seth  Luther,  a  labor  agitator,  declared  that  American  manu- 
facturers were  sending  agents  to  Europe  in  order  to  induce 
working  people  to  come  to  this  country  so  as  to  increase  the 
competition  for  jobs  and  thus  lower  the  scale  of  wages.  In 


IMMIGRATION  331 

the  panic  year  of _i832Jthe_Native  American  Association  was 
organized  on  a  political  basis  in  the  city  of  Washington.1 

The  forties  and  early  fifties  brought  large  numbers  of 
Roman  Catholic  Irish  and  German  liberals  to  our  shore.  Vio- 
lent attacks  upon  Catholics  and  Catholic  churches  occurred. 
"Native  American"  Congressmen  were  elected.  A  national 
convention  of  Native  Americans  was  held.  Delegates  from 
nine  states  were  present.  After  1848  many  of  the  Germans 
who  came  to  this  country  did  not  immediately  seek  naturali- 
zation. This  fanned  the  flames.  A  period  of  rabid  Ameri- 
canism followed;  and  "manifest  destiny"  became  a  fetish. 
The  superiority  of  the  American  and  of  American  institu- 
tions was  universally  believed. 

Daniel  Webster's  defiant  note  to  Austria  is  symptomatic  of 
the  hysterical  and  self-satisfied  feeling  of  the  nation.  "The 
power  of  this  republic  at  the  present  moment  is  spread  over 
a  region  one  of  the  richest  and  most  fertile  on  the  globe,  and 
of  an  extent  in  comparison  with  which  the  possessions  of  the 
House  of  Hapsburg  are  but  a  patch  on  the  earth's  surface." 
"Democratic  individualism"  was  in  the  saddle.  Emerson 
and  Thoreau  were  the  philosophical  mouthpieces  of  the  era. 
In  1852  the  Know-Xothing  or  American  party  came  into 
prominence.  This  spectacular  organization  began  its  rocket- 
like  career  as  a  secret  society.  The  purpose  of  the  Know- 
Nothing  party  seems  to  have  been  the  exclusion  of  foreigners 
and  Roman  Catholics  from  all  national,  state,  and  local 
offices,  and  the  extension  of  the  period  of  residence  before 
naturalization.  It  was  urged  that  immigration  was  in- 
creasing political  corruption,  and  that  the  immigrants  were 
lowering  the  moral  standards  of  the  American  people. 
Southern  members  of  the  Know-Nothing  party  declared 
that  immigration  was  enabling  the  North  to  gain  upon 
the  South  in  influence  in  the  halls  of  Congress.  The 
1  Franklin,  Naturalization  in  the  United  States,  p.  191. 


332    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

slavery  question  was  not  unrelated  to  the  rise  of  Know- 
Nothingism  in  the  South.  Political  and  religious  factors 
were  ever  placed  in  the  foreground  during  the  Native  Ameri- 
can agitation.  But  it  is  probable  that  lurking  in  the  back- 
ground may  be  found  the  fear  of  the  foreigner  as  an  industrial 
competitor.  Mr.  Hall  remarks:  "It  is  probable  that  the 
Know-Nothing  movement  was  not  purely  the  result  of  solici- 
tude for  the  moral  welfare  of  the  country  or  the  apprehension 
for  permanence  of  religious  liberty.1"  As  the  slavery  agi- 
tation grew  more  and  more  furious  and  the  movement  toward 
disunion  became  strong,  the  Know-Nothing  party  disinte- 
grated and  disappeared. 

With  the  opening  of  the  Civil  War  the  pendulum  of  public 
opinion  suddenly  swung  to  the  opposite  extreme.  The  army 
was  diverting  men  from  productive  industry;  and  labor 
saving  devices  were  multiplied.  Women,  apprentices,  un- 
skilled workers,  Nsgroes,  and  immigrants  were  demanded  in 
industry.  By  1864,  less  than  a  decade  after  Know-No  thing- 
ism  was  at  its  height,  immigrants  were  welcomed  by  all 
classes  except  the  wage  earners.  In  that  year  Congress 
passed  an  act  to  encourage  immigration.  This  act  was  passed 
as  a  war  measure  and  was  not  utilized  after  the  close  of  the 
war.  Immigration  was  also  stimulated  during  the  war  period 
by  the  high  nominal  wages,  by  a  depression  in  certain 
European  countries,  and  by  the  artificial  encouragement  of 
immigration  by  American  interests  and  by  the  American 
government.  The  double  need  of  workers  and  soldiers 
caused  the  hatred  of  immigrants  to  be  transmuted  into 
desire  for  their  presence.  "Few  instances  of  such  a  rapid 
and  complete  transformation  in  public  sentiment  can  be  cited 
in  the  whole  history  of  the  country."2  The  labor  interests 
naturally  opposed  the  stimulation  of  immigration,  because  it 

1  Immigration,  p.  209. 

2  Fite,  Social  and  Industrial  Conditions  during  the  Civil  War,  p.  195. 


IMMIGRATION  333 

would  tend  to  keep  down  wages  and  to  reduce  the  standard 
of  living.  But  the  voice  of  the  imperfectly  organized 
workers  was  drowned  by  the  insistent  demand  of  other 
classes  in  the  alleged  interest  of  the  general  welfare  and  of 
industrial  progress.  {Industrial  necessity  brushed  aside  racial 
and  religious  antagonism.) 

Immigration  Problems.  The  important  problems  centering 
around  immigration  may  best  be  considered  from  at  least 
three  somewhat  interrelated  viewpoints :  -f- economic,  political, 
and  racial*  A  fourth  viewpoint  is  frequently  presented;  to  this 
may  be  given  the  designation,  humanitarian  or  sentimental.) 
These  viewpoints  must  now  be  considered  in  some  detail. 

i.  Economic.  In  discussing  the  economic  problems  con- 
nected with  immigration,  we  may  look  at  the  matter  from  the 
side  of  production  or  from  the  side  of  distribution,  (a)  Pro- 
Auction.  The  first  question  which  appears  under  this  head 
naturally  is :  Do  we  need  a  further  supply  of  wage  earners  in 
this  country?  The  immigrant  has  done  much  of  the  rough 
and  hard  work  of  recent  decades.  He  has  built  the  roadbeds 
of  our  railways,  mined  our  coal  and  iron,  unloaded  our  vessels, 
and  cleaned  our  streets.  The  recent  immigrant  has  performed 
the  crude  manual  labor  necessary  for  the  upbuilding  of  big 
industrial  plants  and  huge  transportation  systems.  His  ser- 
vices in  developing  the  resources  of  the  nation  have  been 
extremely  important.  Many  industries  would  be  almost  de- 
pleted if  divested  of  all  wage  earners  of  foreign  birth  and  of 
those  born  on  American  soil  but  of  foreign-born  parents. 
If  the  foreign  born  and  the  native  born  of  foreign  parents  were 
removed  from  our  large  cities,  the  latter  would  shrink  to  ap- 
proximately onerthird  of  their  present  size.1  In  1900  Chi- 
cago would  have  lost  nearly  fonr-nfths_of  her  population 
through  an  expdus  of  the  foreign  born  and  the  native  born  of 
foreign  parents. 

1  Rossiter,  Review  of  Reviews.    March,  1907. 


334    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

On  the  other  hand,  there  is  at  any  and  all  times  a  large 
number  of  wage  earners  out  of  employment.  The  statement  is 
frequently  made  that  large-scale  industry  requires  a  large  float- 
ing and  unemployed  labor  force.  Immigration  undoubtedly 
adds  to  this  number.  In  periods  of  prosperity  this  floating 
mass  of  the  unemployed  is  partially  absorbed;  in  times  of 
depression  the  amount  often  becomes  considerable.  The 
State  of  Massachusetts  has  compiled  fairly  accurate  statis- 
tics of  unemployment  among  the  organized  workers  of  the 
state.  In  the  quarter  ending  March^jj^^i^oS,  the  percentage 
of  idle  members  of  the  labor  organizations  reporting  to  the 
Bureau  of  Statistics  was  17.9  per  cent.  Two  years  later,  in 
the  corresponding  quarterT^tne  percentage  was  7-O6.1  The 
first  figure  represented  conditions  during  a  period  of  depres- 
sion; the  second  one  of  average  business  activity.  Among 
the  unorganized  workers  no  accurate  figures  are  obtainable; 
but  it  is  reasonable  to  assume  that  the  percentage  of  unem- 
ployment is  somewhat  larger  than  in  the  ranks  of  organized 
labor. 

Many  seasonal  industries  frequently  are  unable  to  obtain 
sufficient  workers  during  the  rush  period  of  the  year.  But 
even  when  viewed  solely  from  the  standpoint  of  production, 
it  may  with  propriety  be  asked:  Is  the  best  remedy  in- 
creasing the  labor  supply  or  is  it  the  dovetailing  of  industries 
so  as  to  spread  the  demand  more  equally  over  the  entire 
year?  Psychologists  and  sociologists  assert  that  irregular 
wording  habits  are  demoralizing  to  the  workers.  (  In  &6~far~as 
excessive  immigration  accentuates  the  evil  of  fluctuation  in 
employment  in  a  given  year  or  series  of  years,  it  has  an 
injurious  influence  upon  production. ) 

A  substitute  for  labor,  particularly  of  the  unskilled  type,  is 
found  in  improved  machinery.  Wage  earners  having  a  low 
standard  of  living  and^no  are  willing  to  accept  low  wages 
1  Labor  Bulletin.  No.  72,  May,  1910. 


IMMIGRATION  335 

tend  to  delay  the  introduction  of  improved  machinery  to 
perform  simple  and  routine  tasks.  A  sufficient  supply  of 
wage  earners  eager  to  accept  low  wages  for  shoveling  coal 
will  delay  the  introduction  of  coal  unloading  devices  in  the 
docks  of  our  cities.  Any  change  which  diminishes  the  supply 
of  labor  and  tends  to  raise  wages  will  stimulate  the  invention 
of  labor  saving  devices.  Child  labor,  woman  labor,  and  the 
immigration  of  unskilled  and  low-standard-of-living  workers 
tend  to  delay  the  introduction  of  improved  machinery.  It  is 
frequently  urged  that,  without  the  low-standard-of-living 
immigrant  who  is  willing  to  work  for  low  wages,  many  of  the 
less  productive  resources  would  remain  unexploited.  (Such 
a  view  overlooks  the  possibility  of  utilizing  improved  machin- 
ery in  the  absence  of  a  mass  of  unskilled  labor.}  Certainly 
the  day  is  past  when  the  development  of  the  resources  of  a 
country  is  more  dependent  upon  the  presence  of  a  mass  of 
cheap  and  unskilled  labor  than  it  is  upon  the  utilization 
of  the  results  of  scientific  research  and  mechanical  inge- 
nuity. Cheap  labor  retards  rather  than  accelerates  industrial 
progress. 

Immigration  has,  however,  increased  the  minuteness  of  the 
subdivision  of  labor.  The  incentive  to  subdivision  of  labor 
is  rather  a  diminution  of  the  wage  bill  than  an  increase  in  the 
total  amount  produced. '  The  presence  of  unskilled  workers 
willing  to  accept  low  wages  enables  the  employer  to  split 
up  what  has  been  a  skilled  or  semi-skilled  operation  into 
perhaps  three  or  four  operations.  Only  a  fraction  of  the 
original  operation  remains  in  the  hands  of  the  skilled  opera- 
tive; the  remaining  portions  are  passed  over  to  the  unskilled 
worker.  Thus,  the  total  price  paid  for  a  given  complex 
operation  or  job  may  be  considerably  reduced.  Immigration 
has  hastened  and  increased  subdivision  of  labor.  The  micro- 
scopic division  of  labor  in  the  Chicago  meat  packing  plants 
is,  in  no  small  measure,  due  to  the  influx  of  the  immigrant 


336    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

from  southern  Europe.  It  may  seem  almost  paradoxical  to 
affirm  that  immigration,  since  it  furnishes  a  supply  of  unskilled 
labor,  tends  to  increase  subdivision  of  labor,  and  also  that  it 
tends  to  delay  the  introduction  of  labor  saving  devices.  Re- 
ferring again  to  the  meat  packing  industry,  where  immigration 
has  produced  such  a  notable  effect  in  increasing  the  subdivi- 
sion of  labor,  a  cessation  of  the  influx  of  immigrants  —  men, 
women,  and  children  —  cutting  off  an  important  source  of 
labor  supply,  would  undoubtedly  cause  many  simple  and 
routine  tasks  now  performed  by  hand  to  be  performed  by 
machinery.  While  immigration  does  tend  to  increase  sub- 
division of  labor  and  thus  produces  favorable  conditions  for 
the  invention  of  labor  saving  devices,  it  at  the  same  time 
also  tends  to  delay  the  introduction  of  such  appliances. 

The  value  of  the  immigrant  from  the  standpoint  of  pro- 
duction depends  not  only  upon  the  need  of  more  skilled  and 
unskilled  wage  earners,  but  also  upon  the  distribution  of  the 
immigrants.  Can  the  immigrant  he  sent  wfrere  fre  is  needed? 
The  question  of  the  distribution  of  immigrants  has  attracted 
much  attention  in  recent  decades.  Many  writers  have  pointed 
out  that  the  immigrants  of  recent  years  collect  in  the  cities 
where  they  are  not  needed.  Segregation  in  the  crowded  quar- 
ters of  our  large  cities  has  dangerous  political  and  social,  as 
well  as  economic,  evils.  Segregation  of  the  incoming  horde 
from  Europe  creates  a  little  Italy,  a  little  Russia,  and  a  little 
Servia  in  the  heart  of  more  than  one  great  American  city. 
As  a  consequence  the  inhabitants  of  these  sections  of  our 
cities  know  little  of  American  life,  ideals,  and  standards  of 
living.  Problems  connected  with  charity,  public  and  private 
sanitation,  housing,  sweat  shops,  unemployment,  education, 
religious  and  political  training,  and  the  maintenance  of  order 
are  rendered  complex  and  difficult  of  solution. 

The  congestion  of  immigrants  in  the  cities  is  accompanied, 
it  is  often  asserted,  by  {scarcity  of  labor  in  the  agricultural 


IMMIGRATION  337 

districts./  Many  farms  are  not  worked  to  the  best  advantage 
or  to  their  fullest  capacity  because  of  the  lack  of  workers. 
The  New  York  Immigration  Commission,  after  a  study  of  the 
immigration  statistics  for  the  seven  years  1902  to  1908, 
inclusive,  found  that  i, 043 ,49  2  immigrants  had  been  farmers 
in  their  home  country;  but  only  a  small  percentage  of  the 
total  became  farmers  in  their  adopted  country.  The  Com- 
missioner of  Immigration  in  his  report  for  1903  pointed  to 
the  cities  as  "the  congested  places  in  the  industrial  body  which 
check  the  free  circulation  of  labor."  Two  years  later  the 
Commissioner  was  more  optimistic.  The  aliens,  he  said, 
seemed  to  be  somewhat  better  distributed  than  in  former 
years.  The  rush  to  the  large  cities  was,  in  his  opinion,  checked. 
But  again,  in  the  1908  report,  it  was  held  that  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  division  to  encourage  proper  distribution 
occurred  none  too  soon. 

The  immigration  act  of  1907  contained  a  section  providing 
for  the  establishment  of  a  "nitngirm  fif  Tnfamyjjfcr.  The 
purpose  of  this  portion  of  the  act  has  been  interpreted  by  the 
Secretary  of  Commerce  and  Labor  as  follows:  "first,  to 
bring  about  a  distribution  of  immigrajits  arriving  in  this 
country,  thus  preventing,  as  far  as  possible,  the  congestion 
in  our  larger  Atlantic  seaport  cities  that  has  attended  the 
immigration  of  recent  years;  and  second,  to  supply  informa.- 
tion  to  all  of  ourjworkers,  whether  native,  foreign  born,  or 
attenpso  that  they  may  be  constantly  advised  in  respect  to 
every  part  of  this  country  as  to  what  kind  of  labor  may  be  in 
demand,  the  conditions  surrounding  it,  the  rate  of  wages, 
and  the  cost  of  living  in  the  respective  localities."1 

This  division  is  to  act  as  a  sort  of  labor  exchange  to  facili- 
tate the  work  of  bringing  the  unemployed  worker  and  a  job 
together.  No  far-reaching  scheme  of  distribution  is  con- 
templated. It  fs  worthy  of  notice  that  the  Secretary  expects 

1  Report  of  the  Commissioner-General  of  Immigration  (1908),  p.  223. 


338    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

this  division  to  aid  native  as  well  as  immigrant  workingmen. 
Under  proper  regulation  such  legislation  may  be  beneficial; 
but  difficult  problems  will  undoubtedly  arise.  For  example, 
what  should  be  the  attitude  of  the  division  in  case  of  a  strike? 
Should  this  division  direct  workers  to  points  where  wages  are 
low?  Should  this  division  merely  state  facts  in  cold  figures,  or 
should  it  transmute  those  figures  into  terms  of  cost  of  living, 
home  and  working  conditions,  and  the  like?  The  charge 
that  the  division  has  been  furnishing  strike  breakers  has  been 
made.1  The  work  of  the  division  has  been  chiefly  directed 
toward  sending  the  unemployed  into  the  farming  districts. 

Contrary  to  the  general  opinion  and  to  oft-repeated  asser- 
tions, Professor  Willcox,  after  a  careful  study  of  immigration 
statistics,  finds  no  evidence  of  a  "  disadvantageous  or  danger- 
ous tendency  toward  cities"  on  the  part  of  recent  immigrants.2 
This  careful  student  fails  to  find  a  stronger  tendency  on  the 
part  of  immigrants  toward  urban  life  than  that  displayed 
by  natives.  The  same  economic  motives  and  opportunities 
which  have  lured  the  farmer  boy  from  the  old  homestead 
impel  the  immigrant  to  remain  in  the  city. 

Granting,  however,  that  there  is  undue  crowding  and  con- 
gestion in  our  cities,  the  question  arises:  With  unrestricted 
immigration,  will  distribution  go  far  toward  minimizing  the 
evils  of  city  congestion  and  the  difficulties  associated  with  it? 
Certainly  the  distribution  of  our  slum  population  throughout 
the  rural  districts  will  avail  little  from  the  standpoint  of  pro- 
duction, unless  the  recent  immigrants  are  fitted  to  carry  on 
agriculture  according  to  American  methods.  The  man  from 
southern  Europe  is  not  well  qualified  to  go  into  the  undevel- 
oped portions  of  the  United  States.  He  is  by  nature  and  by 
training  unfitted  for  work  requiring  initiative,  foresight,  and 

1  Report  for  1909,  pp.  232-233. 

2  Quarterly  Journal  of  Economics,  August,  1906.     For  a  criticism  of  this 
article,  see  Fairchild  in  The  Yale  Review,  November,  1907. 


IMMIGRATION  339 

hard  and  prolonged  physical  endeavor.  Again,  the  demand 
for  labor  in  the  agricultural  districts  is,  in  a  large  measure, 
seasonal.  Workers  cannot  be  expected  to  go  to  some  dis- 
tant  rural  district  when  work  is  only  offered  for  a  portion 
of  the  year.  Positions  as  harvest  hands  are  not  particularly 
inviting.  Wholesale  distribution  of  immigrants  in  rural  dis- 
tricts would  cause  the  growth  of  rural  colonies  of  foreigners. 
Certain  of  the  political,  social,  and  economic  dangers  of  city 
segregation  would  inevitably  appear.  To  relieve  the  pressure 
in  the  cities  by  distribution  would  cause  increased  migration 
of  the  redundant  population  of  Europe  to  our  shores  to  fill  the 
places  made  vacant  by  those  removed  to  the  rural  districts. 
\  "Just  as  we  have  already  seen  that  the  tide  of  immigration 
|  rises  with  a  period  of  prosperity  in  America,  so  would  it 
|  rise  with  agricultural  distribution  of  immigrants.  Both  are 
pimply  more  openings  for  employment  and  the  knowledge 
of  such  opportunities  is  promptly  carried  to  the  waiting 
i^aultitudes  abroad."1 

Transportation  companies  have  been  eager  to  encourage 
the  growth  of  sentiment  in  favor  of  distribution  of  immigrants. 
Distribution  means  an  increase  in  railway  and  steamboat 
fares.  Many  humanitarians  have  espoused  various  schemes 
for  the  distribution  of  immigrants.  Another  example  is  thus 
furnished  of  a  union  between  sordid  and  humanitarian 
interests.  "The  proposition  of  federal  distribution  of  immi- 
grants is  merely  a  clever  illusion  kept  up  to  lead  Congress 
astray  from  the  restriction  of  immigration."2  The  prob- 
lems of  city  congestion,  the  sweat-shop,  unemployment,  or 
improper  distribution  of  the  labor  force  of  the  country  are 
not  to  be  cured  by  restricting,  distributing,  or  even  prohib- 
iting immigration.  These  measures  may,  however,  alleviate 

some  of  the  evils. 
S 

1  Commons,  Races  and  Immigrants,  p.  228. 

2  Commons,  ibid.,  p.  230. 


340    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

Immigrants  bring  with  them  considerable  sums  of  money, 
but  they  also  send  back  large  sums  to  the  home  country. 
Those  who  return  after  living  for  a  period  of  years  in  this 
country  usually  take  with  them  more  than  they  brought. 
The  amount  of  money  shown  by  immigrants  during  the  fiscal 
year  of  1909  was  $17,331,828.  Out  of  a  total  immigration 
of  751,786  over  one^Kalf,  0^482,859,  brought  less  than'! 


apiece.  This  sum  is  less  than  the  total  amount  of  money 
actually  brought  into  the  country.  The  immigrants  do  not 
always  disclose  the  total  amount  carried  by  them;  and  much 
money  is  sent  ahead  through  banking  institutions.  In  1906 
over  .400^000  money  orders  were  sent  to  Italy.  The  total 
amount  of  the  orders  was  in  round  numbers  $i6,4oo,ooa|_ 
In  the  single  year  of  1906  money  orders  were  sent  to  one 
European  country  which  nearly  equaled  the  entire  amount 
of  money  shown  by  all  the  immigrants  of  the  fiscal  year  of 
1909.  During  the  first  three  weeks  of  January,  1911,  the 
daily  average  of  money  orders  sent  from  Kalamazoo,  Michi- 
gan, to  Poland,  was  $133.98.  One  rough  estimate  fixes  the 
total  amount  of  money  sent  abroad  by  immigrants  during  a 
year  of  ordinary  prosperity  at  $290,000,000. 

The  economic  value  of  the  immigrant  himself  ought  not  to 
be  overlooked.2  The  average  immigrant  comes  here  full- 
grown.  The  expense  of  bringing  the  individual  to  manhood 
or  womanhood  has  fallen  upon  the  home  country.  The 
expense  of  " bringing  up"  an  individual  is,  however,  no 
accurate  or  adequate  measure  of  his  value  to  his  adopted 
country.  Efficiency  and  character  are  more  important  in 
valuing  the  economic  worth  of  a  man.  But  the  nation  re- 
ceiving a  full-grown  immigrant  is  relieved  of  certain  expenses 
involved  in  developing  the  young.  Any  gain  of  this  sort  is 

1  Taylor,  Charities  and  the  Commons.     May  4,  1907,  pp.  171-172. 

2  This  point  is  discussed  at  length  in  Smith's  Emigration  and  Immigration, 
pp.  102-122. 


IMMIGRATION 

discounted  in  a  large  measure  by  the  social  and  economic 
adjustments  incidental  to  immigration,  —  unemployment, 
increase  in  pauperism,  disease,  and  delinquency. 

(b)  Distribution.  From  the  standpoint  of  the  nation  as  a 
unit,  and  particularly  from  that  of  the  wage  earners  of  the 
country,  the  vital  economic  problems  in  connection  with 
immigration  relate,  not  to  production,  but  to  distribution,  - 
to  its  influence  upon  wages  and  the  standard  of  living  of  the 
wage  earning  classes.  The  shifting  of  the  chief  sources  of 
immigration  from  northern  to  southern  Europe  brought  the 
competition  between  standards  of  living  into  the  foreground. 
The  optimistic  view  is  well  presented  by  President  Hadley. 
According  to  this  conservative  writer  immigration  has  been 
a  cause  of  the  uplift  of  the  native  and  of  the  immigrant  of 
preceding  decades.  The  native  workers  have  been  compelled 
"to  rise  orHie."  John  Mitchell,  speaking  for  organized  labor, 
voices  an  entirely  different  sentiment:  "The  American 
people  should  not  sacrifice  the  future  of  the  working  classes 
in  order  to  improve  the  conditions  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Europe,  and  it  is  even  questionable  whether  an  unregulated 
immigration  would  improve  the  conditions  of  Europe  and 
Asia,  although  it  is  certain  that  it  would  degrade  and  injure 
the  conditions  of  labor  in  this  country."  These  views,  which 
seem  to  be  widely  divergent,  may  be  partially,  but  not  com- 
pletely, harmonized  when  it  is  noticed  that  Mr.  Hadley's 
eyes  are  focused  upon  the  past  while  Mr.  Mitchell  is  dealing 
with  the  decade  1900  to  1909.  The  investigations  of  the 
Immigration  Commission  appointed  in  1907  support  Mr. 
Mitchell's  contention.  Their  investigations  show  "  an  over- 
supply  of  unskilled  labor  in  basic  industries  to  an  extent  which 
indicates  an  oversupply  of  unskilled  labor  in  industries  of  the 
country  as  a  whole." 

President  riadley  evidently  saw  only  one  phase  of  the 
matter.    Many  natives  were  forced  up  in  the  scale,  but  many 


342    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

others  less  fortunate  were  forced  out  to  become  the  wreckage 
of  humanity;  and  still  others  were  obliged  to  lower  their 
standard  of  living  to  meet  that  of  the  newly  arrived  immigrant. 
And  how,  as  a  rule,  did  the  native  American  rise?  By  de- 
laying marriage  and  by  reducing  the  average  size  of  families 
-race  suicide  —  or  through  the  instrumentality  of  some 
special  privilege  which  enables  him  to  exploit  the  newcomers. 
President  Walker's  contention  that  immigration  has  not 
increased  the  population  but  merely  replaced  the  native  with 
foreign  stock,  is  oft-quoted  and  well  known. 

Granting,  however,  that  President  Hadley's  argument  is  in 
some  degree  tenable  if  applied  to  earlier  decades,  it  must  of 
necessity  be  discarded  when  applied  to  the  present.  Low 
standards  of  living  on  the  part  of  unskilled  workers  menace 
the  higher  standards  of  the  skilled  workers.  The  skilled  man 
is  recognizing  this  fact;  and  he  is  found  frequently  joining 
hands  with  the  unskilled  to  right  the  grievances  of  the  latter. 
As  bad  money  drives  out  the  good,  so  does  cheap  labor  tend 
to  drive  out  those  demanding  a  higher  standard  of  living. 
It  is  apparently  a  case  of  the  survival  of  the  unfit. 

In  the  cotton  mills,  in  the  meat  packing  industry,  in  the  coal 
mines,  in  the  clothing  industry,  and  elsewhere,  one  nationality 
has  been  displaced  by  another  satisfied  with  a  lower  standard 
of  living.  In  turn  the  second  has  been  displaced  by  a  third, 
and  so  on.  Wave  after  wave  of  immigrants  may  be  traced  in 
the  history  of  one  of  these  industries.  "As  rapidly  as  a  race 
rises  in  the  scale  of  living,  and  through  organization  begins 
to  demand  higher  wages  and  resist  the  pressure  of  long  hours 
and  over-exertion,  the  employers  substitute  another  race  and 
the  process  is  repeated.  Each  race  comes  from  a  country 
lower  in  the  scale  than  that  of  the  preceding,  until  finally 
the  ends  of  the  earth  have  been  ransacked  in  the  search  for  low 
standards  of  living  combined  with  patient  industriousness. " ' 
1  Commons,  p.  152. 


IMMIGRATION  343 

( Ra£fi_prejudiee  is  at  bottom  largely  due  to  economic  fric- 
tion and  the  competition  of  standards  of  living.^  Cut-throat 
competition  between  different  nationalities  causes  wages  to 
be  reduced,  or  the  worker  to  be  speeded  up,  or  both.  With- 
out efficient  organization  among  the  workers,  which  is  diffi- 
cult in  the  face  of  hordes  of  incoming  low-grade  industrial 
workers,  wages  in  the  unskilled  occupations  drop  to  the  mini- 
mum of  subsistence.  This  minimum  is  higher  than  that  of 
Europe  because  of  the  greater  exertion  on  the  part  of  the 
workers,  required  by  the  American  employer;  and  because 
compulsory  education  laws  and  laws  prohibiting  child  labor 
in  many  states  compel  the  immigrant  to  support  his  children 
until  they  are  fourteen  years  of  age. 

Unions  of  the  unskilled  or  of  the  semi-skilled,  particularly 
in  the  eastern  part  of  the  United  States,  have  severely  felt 
the  disintegrating  influence  of  immigration.  There  are  some 
reasons,  however,  for  believing  that  in  the  future  European 
immigration  will  not  offer  such  a  serious  obstacle  to  organiza- 
tions as  it  has  in  the  past.  Today,  when  the  Italian  or  the 
Slav  arrives,  he  meets  his  countrymen.  If  the  standard  of 
living  of  the  latter  has  been  raised,  the  newcomer  can  be 
acted  upon  much  more  easily  and  quickly  than  was  the  case 
when  Italian  and  Slavic  immigration  began.  Labor  unions 
contain  many  of  the  immigrant's  countrymen,  and  they 
welcome  his  entrance  into  the  union  fold.  Many  recent 
examples  of  strong  and  coherent  organization  among  the 
unskilled  and  the  recent  immigrants  indicate  that  the 
newcomer  readily  learns  to  look  to  some  form  of  labor 
organization  for  protection  and  assistance. 

Immigration  to  this  country  has  a  reflex  influence  which 
tends  to  improve  conditions  in  the  country  from  which  the 
immigrant  come^.  Many  return  to  the  home  country  with 
new  ideals  and  methods,  and  with  sums  of  money  which 
enable  them  to  live  better  than  formerly.  'A  new  standard 


344    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

of  living  is  fixed  by  the  returning  peasant  and  the  others  see 
a  new  social  ideal  and  are  stirred  into  unwonted  life  and 
activity.  The  money  sent  back  to  relatives  remaining  at 
home  also  has  a  potent  effect.  Many  towns  in  southern  Italy 
have  improved  perceptibly.  Better  homes  are  built,  and  the 
old  rigid  class  demarcations  tend  to  break  down.  Squalor 
gives  way  to  something  better.  In  due  time  a  change  of 
this  sort  will  improve  the  character  of  the  average  immigrant. 
In  the  future  it  will  be  immigration  from  India,  China,  and 
Japan,  rather  than  from  Europe,  which  will  menace  the 
wages  and  standards  of  living  of  the  American  workman. 

(Restriction  of  immigration  has  been  called  the  laborer's 
protective  tariff.y  Immigration  means  cheap  labor.  In  the 
absence  of  laws  adequately  restricting  immigration,  organi- 
zation of  the  immigrant  wage  earners  is  a  matter  of  self- 
defense  on  the  part  of  the  wage  earners  already  within  the 
union.  If  organized  labor  is  able  to  increase  wages  and  to 
shorten  the  length  of  the  working  day,  it  is  not  unlikely  that 
an  insistent  demand  will  arise  from  the  employing  class  for  a 
repeal  of  the  present  contract  labor  law.  The  Southern 
states,  eager  for  workers,  are  anxious  to  offer  inducements  to 
prospective  immigrants.  The  Attorney- General  has  ruled 
however,  "that,  if  a  representative  of  a  state  or  territory 
induces  an  alien  to  immigrate  by  holding  out  to  him  individ- 
ually a  promise  of  employment,  such  alien  is  inadmissible." l 
States  and  territories  may  legally  advertise,  setting  forth  the 
opportunities  offered  by  them.  In  November,  1906,  473  Bel- 
gians came  to  South  Carolina  in  response  to  an  advertisement 
made  in  Europe  by  the  State  Commissioner  of  Immigration. 
The  demand  for  cheap  labor  caused  the  introduction  of 
negro  slaves  and  of  indentured  servants  into  the  country; 
and  likewise  much  of  our  recent  immigration  is  due  to  the 
same  cause. 

1  Report  of  the  Commissioner-General  of  Immigration,  1908,  p.  133. 


IMMIGRATION  345 

2.  Political  Problems.  Immigration  caused  by  the  demand 
for  cheap  labor,  and  leading  to  a  conglomeration  of  races  and 
nationalities  and  to  a  gradual,  stiffening  stratification  of  classes, 
has  been  an  important  factor  in  complicating  politics  in  a 
nominally  democratic  country.  Political  corruption  is  not 
solely  the  product  of  the  influx  of  immigrants  unaccustomed 
to  democracy  or  liberalism;  but  the  successive  waves  of  im- 
migration have  prepared  a  fertile  soil  for  the  cultivation  of 
corrupt  practices  which  eat  out  the  vitals  of  democracy  and 
promise  to  leave  it  a  hollow  mockery  which  conceals  a  power- 
ful plutocracy.  Mr.  Steffens  found  that  political  corruption 
was  rampant  in  the  rural  districts  of  Rhode  Island  where  few 
of  the  recent  immigrants  make  their  homes;  and  Adams 
County,  Ohio,  made  notorious  because  a  large  percentage  of 
the  voters  were  found  guilty  of  selling  their  votes,  contains 
few  recent  immigrants.  Corruption  in  politics  is  primarily 
due  to  the  interference  of  private  economic  interests  with 
public  business;  but  wide  differentiation  of  interests  and  races 
increases  the  opportunities  for  such  interferences.  The  politi- 
cal machine,  directed  by  the  boss,  maintains  and  strengthens 
its  power  and  influence  by  carefully  and  skilfully  balancing 
nationalities  and  interests  against  each  other.  The  colorless 
man  possessing  a  flexible  backbone  and  no  important  and 
well  defined  opinions  of  his  own  comes  to  the  front;  and  the 
colorless  man  is  the  visible  tool  of  the  boss.  The  latter  in 
turn  is  controlled  by  men  desiring  special  privileges  and 
favorable  legislation.  "Representative  democracy  becomes 
bossocracy  in  the  service  of  plutocracy;"  —  and  immigration 
has  made  the  transition  easy  although  difficult  to  observe. 

A  strain  is  put  upon  democratic  institutions,  because  in  the 
first  place,  many  of  the  newcomers  have  developed  under  a 
paternalistic  form  of  government  and  are  not  prepared  to 
readily  adopt  and  conserve  the  institutions  and  governmental 
ideals  of  English  speaking  people.  Further  difficulties  arise 


346    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

because  a  representative  is  supposed  to  properly  and  ade- 
quately represent  all  the  people  in  a  given  ward  or  legislative 
district.  In  a  given  district  are  frequently  found  employers 
and  employees,  landlords  and  tenants,  unionists  and  union- 
smashers,  American,  German,  and  Slav,  Protestant,  Roman 
Catholic,  and  Jew,  Negro  and  Caucasian.  Not  even  the  most 
agile  politician  can  hope  to  represent  the  divergent  interests 
and  ideals  of  the  people  in  the  ordinary  legislative  district 
or  ward. 

The  introduction  of  home  rule  for  cities  has  been  delayed 
by  the  presence  in  our  cities  of  large  foreign  populations. 
Such  matters  as  those  connected  with  the  enforcement  of  laws 
and  with  the  prohibition  of  the  liquor  traffic  are  the  subjects 
of  fierce  controversy  because  of  the  diverse  moral  standards 
of  people  of  different  nationalities  and  racial  experiences 
living  within  a  given  state  or  city.  Economic  reforms  in 
cities  are  often  delayed  because  the  question  of  law  enforce- 
ment can  be  utilized  to  divert  attention  from  vital  economic 
questions  affecting  the  welfare  of  the  great  majority  of  the 
population.  Unfortunately,  the  humanitarian  element  in 
the  community — those  who  are  interested  in  improving  the 
moral  tone  and  the  physical  well-being  of  the  community, 
and  who  are  fighting  the  saloon,  factory  evils,  the  white  slave 
traffic,  and  the  like  —  is  often  forced  into  alignment  with  the 
interests  which  are  bitterly  opposed  to  progressive  economic 
programs  that  strike  at  special  privileges.1 

On  the  other  hand,  the  immigrant  is  usually  accustomed  to 
some  form  of  social  organization.  He  is  not  as  individualistic 
as  is  the  typical  native  American.  He  can  be  organized  with 
others  into  labor  unions;  and  when  the  unskilled  immigrants 
from  a  variety  of  birthplaces  are  thus  associated,  the  result- 
ing union  is  usually  strong,  coherent,  and  easily  directed  by 
capable  and  enthusiastic  leaders.  The  McKees  Rocks  strike 

1  See  Commons,  Chapter  VIII. 


IMMIGRATION  347 

furnishes  an  excellent  illustration  of  the  solidarity  of  the 
unskilled  when  organized.  Is  it  unreasonable  to  assume  that 
it  will  not  prove  an  insurmountable  task  to  organize  these  men 
politically  hi  such  a  way  as  to  break  down  the  power  of  the 
boss  who  has  built  his  machine  upon  interest  and  racial 
differences? 
— i_  Racial  Problems.  The  inordinate  self-satisfaction  of  the 


average  individual  of  Anglo-Saxon  extraction  has  led  to  a 
gross  and  persistent  exaggeration  of  the  danger  of  racial  and 
national  deterioration  as  a  consequence  of  the  heterogeneity 
of  the  immigration  of  recent  decades.  It  is  urged  that  a 
dangerously  large  percentage  of  immigrants  are  weaklings,  and 
diseased  and  degenerate  persons;  but  we  are  annually  pro- 
ducing large  numbers  of  such  persons  because  of  over-driving, 
long  working  hours,  insanitary  conditions  in  homes  and  fac- 
tories, ovef^er^wding,  the  consumption  of  improper  and  adul- 
terated food,  and  the  spread  of  venereal  diseases.  "Race 
suicide"  is  alleged  to  be  almost  solely  the  result  of  immigra- 
tion; but  the  birth-rate  has  also  declined  in  New  Zealand  and 
Australia,  countries  little  troubled  by  immigration.1  The 
fear  is  frequently  expressed  that  deterioration  will  be  the 
inevitable  effect  of  the  racial  mixture  incidental  to  immigra- 
tion. While  the  mixture  of  races  widely  differing  from  each 
other  may  be  a  menace,  exceptional  racial  purity  is  not  con- 
ducive of  a  high  type  of  civilization.  "Modern  civilized 
nations  are  formed,  developed,  and  become  world-powers 
regardless  of  their  racial  composition."2  In  fact,  with  the 
development  of  large  cities,  huge  industrial  establishments, 
systematized  industry,  and  social  interdependence,  it  is  es- 
sential that  the  crude  aggressive  individualism  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  frontiersman  be  toned  down.  The  assimilation  of  the 

1  See  article  by  the  writer  in  The  Arena,  Dec.,  1906. 

2  Fishberg,  Report  of  the  Conference  of  Charities  and  Correction,  1906,  p.  304. 
See  also  Finot,  Race  Prejudices. 


348    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

culture  of  the  immigrants  from  southern  Europe  may  modify 
American  traits  and  characteristics  in  a  very  desirable 
manner.1 

The  important  racial  and  political  problems  connected  with 
immigration  center  around  the  Americanization  of  the  immi- 
grant. Americanization  does  not  necessarily  mean  amalgama- 
tion but  rather  the  development  of  a  fair  degree  of  unanimity 
of  thought  and  action.  While  the  immigrant  is  subjected  to 
various  forces  which  tend  to  "  Americanize "  him,  the  fact 
must  not  be  overlooked  that  each  new  racial  or  national 
ingredient  contributes  its  mite  to  modify  American  life  and 
ideals.  The  resultant  Americanism  is  not  the  puritanical 
Americanism  of  tradition.  Americanism  is  then  a  changing 
concept  which  bears  the  impress  of  racial  mixture  and 
economic  transformation.  It  has  been  pointed  out  that  in 
New  York  City  the  Jews  practically  control  the  theater  and 
music  hall  business,  own  about  one-half  of  the  newspapers, 
compose  a  considerable  percentage  of  the  public  school 
teachers,  and  are  very  prominent  in  banking  and  mercantile 
circles.  Surely  a  people  that  have  much  to  do  with  direct- 
ing the  press,  the  school  system,  and  the  amusements  of 
a  city,  exercise  a  powerful  molding  influence  upon  the 
community. 

The  two  important  Americanizing  institutions  are  the  pub- 
lic school  system  and  the  labor  organizations.  The  former 
reacKeTthe  child  of  the  immigrant  at  the  plastic  period  in  the 
life  of  the  young,  and  indirectly  it  modifies  the  adult  immigrant 
himself.  The  public  school  is  a  democratic  institution.  Chil- 
dren from  various  classes  and  nationalities  meet  in  the  class- 
room and  mingle  together  on  the  playground  upon  a  plane 
of  equality.  The  hostility  between  nationalities,  which  is 
nurtured  through  ignorance  and  lack  of  contact,  is  reduced. 
The  school  gives  its  heterogeneous  mass  of  pupils  certain 
1  See  the  writer's  Education  and  Industrial  Evolution,  pp.  57-59. 


IMMIGRATION  349 

common  interests.  The  English  language  is  taught  to  all 
pupils;  this  is  doubtless  an  essential  for  Americanization. 
The  public  school  also  instils  into  the  immigrant  child  a 
knowledge  of  American  history  and  of  our  national  traditions. 
Industrial  training,  domestic  science,  and  the  experience  upon 
the  playground  make  the  boys  and  girls  more  efficient  and 
healthy  young  people.  An  opportunity  is  thus  afforded  for 
progress  toward  the  higher  standards  of  living. 

The  union  touches  the  adult.  It  uses  the  potent  bread  and 
butter  argument:  "Join  the  union  and  your  wages  will  be 
raised,  your  working  day  shortened,  and  you  will  be  given 
better  treatment."  Such  is  the  oft-repeated  story  poured  into 
the  ears  of  the  newcomer.  The  union  aims  to  create  dis- 
content with  low  wages  and  low  standards  of  living,  and 
Americanization  can  only  come  to  the  low-standard-of-living 
immigrant  worker  as  his  wages  are  increased  and  his  standard 
of  living  raised.  The  union  is  only  effective  with  industrial 
workers  in  cities  and  mining  towns.  The  agriculturalists, 
the  fruit  venders,  and  many  kinds  of  common  labor  are  not 
as  yet  reached  by  the  labor  organization.  The  growing 
strength  of  industrial  unionism  indicates  that  the  union  is 
gaining  in  potency  as  an  Americanizing  influence. 

How  does  the  union  Americanize  the  immigrant?  An 
answer  which  has  been  given  to  this  question  may  well  be 
summarized,  i.  The  union  teaches  self  government.  The  im- 
migrant learns  to  remedy  grievances  through  the  use  of  the 
ballot.  He  learns  that  he  must  obey  officers  elected  by  the 
membership  of  the  union.  2.  The  union  gives  the  immigrant 
the  sense__jrf__a_cpmmori_cause  and  of  a  public  interest. 

3.  Different  nationalities  are  thrown  into  a  common  group,  and 
they  soon  adopt  ~a.  common   way  "of  thinking  and  acting. 

4.  Foreigners  arfiLthrown  into  intimate_coatact  with  those  who 
have  partially  adopted  American  customs  and  ideals.     The  re- 
cent immigrant  hastens  to  follow  in  their  footsteps.    5.  Unions 


350    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

I  usually  require  members  Jo  Jbe_citizens  of  the  United  States, 
or  to  have  declared  their  intention  to, -become  citizens. 
6.  It  reduces  the  fear  of  the  boss  and  introduces  the  idea  of  par- 
tial control  of  industry  by  the  employee.  7.  The  union  raises 
the  wages  of  the  immigrant,  shortens  his  working  day,  and 
improves  his  working  conditions.  8.  It  reduces  the  feeling 
of  antagonism  often  existing  between  different  nationalities.1 

Immigration  from  southern  Europe  has  increased  the  per- 
centage of  Catholic  and  Jewish  immigrants.  Some  of  the 
Eastern  states  which  in  the  past  stamped  the  North  and  the 
West  with  the  form  of  local  government,  and  with  the  religious 
ideals  which  are  traditionally  known  as  American,  now  find 
themselves  becoming  pafdominantly  Roman  Catholic.  The 
industrial  workers  of  the  country  are  Catholic  rather  than 
Protestant.  The  organization  and  methods  of  the  denom- 
inational churches  tend  to  make  these  bodies  inefficient 
Americanizing  agents.  Only  recently  have  the  Protestant 
denominations  awakened  to  the  gravity  of  the  situation;  and 
they  are  finding  it  difficult  to  throw  aside  the  traditional  and 
inherited  methods  which  may  have  been  efficient  in  a  rural 
community  of  a  few  generations  ago,  but  which  are  very 
inefficient  in  reaching  the  average  industrial  workers  of  our 
cities  and  towns.  The  social  settlement,  the  home  mission- 
ary societies,  and  the  "institutional  church"  are  reaching 
out  for  the  aliens  living  in  our  industrial  centers;  but  only 
after  a  radical  modification  in  its  methods  can  the  average 
Protestant  church  hope  to  be  an  important  influence  in  the 
Americanization  of  the  immigrant. 

4.  The  Sentimental  Argument.  The  oldest  and  most 
familiar  argument  used  in  opposition  to  pleas  of  the  wage 
earners  for  restrictive  legislation  is  the  sentimental  or  human- 
itarian. America,  symbolized  by  the  great  statue  in  New 

1  Huebner,  "The  Americanization  of  the  Immigrant,"  The  Annals  of  the 
imerkan  Academy.  May,  1906,  pp.  204-205. 


IMMIGRATION  351 

York  harbor,- must  be  the  haven  of  refuge  for  the  oppressed 
and  the  hopeless  of  all  lands.  Employers  anxious  to  hire 
cheap  labor  as  well  as  certain  sentimental  enthusiasts  for 
democracy  have  waxed  eloquent  in  favor  of  this  sort  of  cos- 
mopolitanism. When  this  argument  is  applied  to  the  tariff 
question,  however,  the  altruism  of  the  employers  suddenly 
vanishes  in  thin  air;  and  it  is  often  urged  that  a  protective  tariff 
will  enable  Americans  to  build  up  industries  at  the  expense 
of  the  foreigner.  Mr.  Mitchell,  presenting  the  wage  earners' 
view,  believes  that  unrestricted  immigration  for  example 
from  China  would  benefit  that  nation  very  little  and  would 
greatly  injure  America.  "The  creation  of  an  outlet  for  a 
million  or  two  million  of  Chinese  immigrants  each  year  would 
merely  have  the  effect  of  increasing  the  birth-rate  in  that 
country,  with  the  result  that  within  a  century  a  majority  of 
the  working  people  of  this  country  would  be  Chinese,  while 
the  congestion  in  the  Celestial  Empire  would  be  as  great  and 
as  unrelieved  as  ever."  This  bald  statement  may  overesti- 
mate the  evil  to  this  country  and  underestimate  the  benefit 
to  China  of  unrestricted  Chinese  immigration;  but  to  the 
careful  student  no  appeal  of  the  sentimental  variety  can 
entirely  conceal  the  danger.  The  plea  for  restriction  of  immi- 
gration may  be  one  of  national  or  class  selfishness;  likewise 
the  altruistic  appeal  to  cosmopolitanism  may  be  a  cloak  for 
selfishness  on  the  part  of  another  class.  The  wage  earners 
fear  that  unrestricted  immigration  will  reduce  wages  and  lower 
their  standards  of  living.  The  business  interests  believe  that 
restricted  immigration  reduces  profits. 

The  traditional  policy  of  the  socialists  has  been  one  of  non- 
interference with  emigration  and  immigration.  They  have  held 
that  such  movements  were  regulated  by  economic  conditions. 
The  attitude  of  the  socialists  toward  immigration  has  been  a 
topic  of  discussion  at  recent  International  Social  Congresses. 
Representatives  from  Holland,  Australia,  and  the  United 


352    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

States  have  opposed  the  importation  of  the  backward  races 
into  advanced  countries.  At  the  Socialist  Congress  held  in 
Chicago  in  May,  1910,  the  majority  of  a  committee  appointed 
two  years  before  to  study  the  immigration  problem  reported 
in  favor  of  the  exclusion  of  Chinese,  Japanese,  Koreans,  and 
Hindus  because  these  were  considered  backward  races,  psy- 
chologically and  economically.  This  report  was  not  adopted, 
but  it  was  favored  by  the  conservative  and  constructive  ele- 
ment in  the  congress.  A  substitute  was  adopted  which  reads 
in  part  as  follows:  " The  Socialist  party  of  the  United  States 
favors  all  legislative  measures  tending  to  prevent  the  immi- 
gration of  strike  breakers  and  contract  laborers,  and  the  mass 
importation  of  workers  from  foreign  countries,  brought  about 
by  the  employing  classes  for  the  purpose  of  weakening  the 
organization  of  American  labor  and  of  lowering  the  standard 
of  life  of  the  American  workers."  It  was  stated  on  the  floor 
of  the  congress  that  Asiatic  laborers  cannot  understand  the 
principles  of  unionism  or  of  socialism. 

Legislation.  The  first  general  immigration  law  was  not 
passed  until  1882.  Previous  to  the  Civil  War  several  acts  were 
passed  for  the  purpose  of  insuring  to  immigrants  decent  treat- 
ment and  safety  while  crossing  the  ocean.  Acts  were  passed 
in  1862,  1869,  1873,  and  .1875,  dealing  with  coolie  immigration 
from  the  Orient.  With  one  exception,  until  1882  the  federal 
government  left  the  control  of  immigration  almost  entirely  in 
the  hands  of  the  seaboard  states.  This  exception  was  the  tem- 
porary act  of  1864  passed  as  a  war  measure  to  encourage  immi- 
gration. ^  The  general  law  of  1882  marks  the  first  step  toward 
definite  federal  control  over  immigration. J  ^This  act  provided 
for  a  head-tax  of  fifty  cents  and  excluded  certain  undesirable 
classes  of  immigrants.  )  The  law,  however,  provided  for  coop- 
eration between  state  and  federal  authorities.  Other  general 
acts  were  passed  in  1891,  1893,  1903^  and  1907.  The  office  of 
Superintendent  of  Immigration,  now  denoted  Commissioner- 


IMMIGRATION  353 

General  of  Immigration,  was  created  under  the  act  of  1891. 
Under  pressure  from  the  Knights  of  Labor  and  other  labor 
organizations,  Congress  passed  contract  labor  laws  in  1885 
and  1888.  These  acts  aimed  to  prevent  the  importation  of 
unskilled  labor  under  contract  to  work  for  American  firms. 
They  have  been  strengthened  by  subsequent  legislation. 

The  aim  of  the  recent  immigration  acts  is  the  exclusion  of 
all  aliens  who  are  mentally,  morally,  or  physically  deficient. 
( Under  the  act  of  1907  convicts,~persons  possessing  physical 
and  mental  deformities,  or  afflicted  with  contagious  diseases, 
those  suspected  of  immigrating  for  immoral  purposes,  beggars, 
paupers,  or  those  likely  to  become  public  charges,  anarchists, 
polygamists,  and  contract  laborers  are  the  excluded  classes.) 
Provision  is  made  for  careful  inspection  of  immigration  and 
for  detention  of  those  suspected  of  belonging  to  one  of  the 
excluded  classes.  A  head-tax  of  $4.00  is  exacted  from  each 
immigrant.  The  money  thus  received  is  used  to  assist  in 
defraying  the  expenses  of  regulating  immigration.  Steamship 
companies  are  held  liable  for  illegally  bringing  in  immigrants. 
Rejected  immigrants  must  under  the  law  be  returned  at  the 
expense  of  the  company  bringing  them  to  our  shores.  The 
federal  authorities  may  deport  any  alien  becoming  a  public 
charge  within  three  years  from  date  of  entry.  Encourage- 
ment or  solicitation  of  immigrants  by  steamship  companies 
is  prohibited.  The  Immigration  Commission  recommended 
the  restriction  of  further  admission  of  unskilled  labor. 

The  federal  government  controls  the  admission  or  rejection 
of  the  immigrant;  but  after  he  is  here,  the  responsibility  for 
his  fair  treatment,  welfare,  and  betterment  rests  upon  the 
state  governments.  The  formation  of  good  citizens  and 
efficient  workers  out  of  the  immigrants  and  their  children  is  a 
task  which  the  state  government  must  shoulder.  The  real 
immigration  problem  is  a  state  rather  than  a  federal  problem. 

Oriental  Immigration.    The  problems  connected  with  On- 


354    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

ental  immigration  present  phases  very  similar  to  the  Negro 
problem  of  the  South  and  of  many  Northern  cities.  Physical 
and  psychological  differences  between  the  American  and  the 
Asiatic  make  assimilation  of  the  Oriental  immigrants  practi- 
cally impossible,  and,  therefore,  multiply  the  political  and 
racial  complications  which  have  accompanied  European  im- 
migration. Any  considerable  influx  of  Chinese,  Japanese, 
Koreans,  or  Hindus  would  evolve  a  yellow  problem  not  unlike 
the  Negro  problem.  From  the  viewpoint  of  the  employer 
seeking  cheap,  unskilled,  and  unambitious  workers,  the  Chi- 
nese coolie  is  a  desirable  type  of  employee.  The  Chinese  are 
"patient,  docile,  industrious,  and  above  all  ' honest'  in  the 
business  sense  that  they  keep  their  contracts."  A  Chinese 
contractor  delivers  the  desired  number  of  men,  they  board 
and  lodge  themselves,  and  quietly  disappear  when  the  work  is 
done.  The  purchase  of  Chinese  labor  is  like  the  purchase  of 
a  consignment  of  merchandise.  "This  elimination  of  the 
human  element  reduces  the  labor  problem  to  something  the 
employer  can  understand.  The  Chinese  labor-machine,  from 
his  standpoint,  is  perfect." l  The  Japanese  is  more  aggressive 
and  more  ambitious.  He  does  not  recognize  that  a  contract 
implies  an  obligation  on  his  part  to  live  up  to  its  terms. 

These  qualities  of  the  Chinese  coolie  make  him  a  dangerous 
menace  to  the  organized  and  unorganized  American  wage 
earner,  struggling  to  maintain  a  comparatively  high  standard 
of  living.  And  if  the  wage  earner  is  the  corner-stone  of  Ameri- 
can democracy,  Oriental  immigration  on  a  large  scale,  whether 
Chinese,  Japanese,  Korean,  or  Hindu,  will  place  American 
institutions  in  grave  danger  of  disintegration.  Good  citizens 
are  not  evolved  out  of  docile,  unthinking,  and  machine-like 
masses  of  wage  earners  such  as  the^Chinese  coolies,  nor  out  of 
the  alert,  ambitious,  but  practically  unassimilable  Japanese. 

1  Rowell,  "Chinese  and  Japanese  Immigrants,"  Anndfr  of  the  American 
Academy,  Vol.  34  :  224. 


IMMIGRATION  355 

The  cry  of  danger  is  not  new;  and  we  ought  not  to  be  carried 
off  our  feet  by  a  wave  of  prejudice  against  hard-working 
Orientals.  Before  i855_t^ere  was  much  opposition  to  the 
Germans  and  the  Irish;  but  these  nationalities  have  proven 
to  be  good  elements  in  our  population.  Spain  banished  the 
Moors,  and  France  drove  out  the  Huguenots.  In  each  in- 
stance the  aggressors  were  injured.  The  problem  of  Oriental 
immigration  should  be  studied  carefully.  Our  future  rela- 
tions with  the  East  are  involved.  The  policy  of  excluding 
all  Orientals  ought  not  to  be  adopted  in  the  heat  of  passion. 
The  danger  to  the  wage  earner  is,  however,  real;  his  status 
in  the  land  of  his  nativity  is  at  stake.  A  flow  of  immigration 
from  the  vast  sea  of  humanity  found  in  the  Orient  would 
quickly  submerge  the  white  wage  earner  of  the  Pacific 
coast. 

The  above  statement  is  not  unsupported  by  concrete 
evidence.  Hawaii  furnishes  a  social  laboratory  in  which  to 
study  the  effect  of  Oriental  immigration.  The  labor  force 
of  Hawaii  is  almost  completely  Orientalized.  At  first,  com- 
petition was  felt  only  in  the  unskilled  occupations,  but  grad- 
ually it  is  coming  to  be  severely  felt  in  the  skilled  trades  and 
in  mercantile  pursuits.  The  building  trades,  for  example, 
have  been  invaded  by  the  Oriental  workers.  In  1900  prac- 
tically one-half  of  all  the  males  engaged  in  domestic  and 
personal  service,  trade  and  transportation,  manufacture  and 
mechanical  pursuits  were  Chinese  and  Japanese.  Nine-tenths 
of  those  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  were  of  these  two 
nationalities.1  The  agitation  in  California  in  the  seventies 
against  the  Chinese  immigrant,  and  the  recent  agitation 
against  the  Japanese  immigrant,  show  clearly  that  the  people 
of  California  will  not  submit  gracefully  to  "  Qrientalization," 
such  as  has  occurred  in  Hawaii. 
/The  Chinese  exclusion  act,  passed  in  1882,  suspended  the 

1  See  Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor.    No.  66. 


356    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

immigration  of  all  Chinese  skilled  and  unskilled  laborers.] 
This  legislation  was  to  extend  over  a  period  of  ten  years;  but 
the  act  has  been  strengthened  •  and  renewed  several  times. 
Finally,  in  1902,  the  exclusion  acts  were  given  an  indefinite 
extension  of  life.  Alien  Chinese  are  also  prohibited  from 
emigrating  from  our  insular  possessions  to  the  mainland. 
Chinese  born  in  this  country  are  considered  to  be  "native 
sons,"  and  are  entitled  to  admission.  The  exclusion  acts 
have  proven  very  difficult  of  enforcement. 

The  treaty  of  1894  with  Japan  provided  that  nothing  in  it 
should  be  construed  to  affect  laws  respecting  the  immigration 
of  laborers  "which  are  in  force  or  which  may  hereafter  be 
enacted  in  either  of  the  two  countries."  Although  the  United 
States  has  not  taken  advantage  of  this  clause  in  the  treaty, 
this  provision  was  distasteful  to  Japan  because  it  seemed  to 
sanction  any  possible  form  of  exclusion  act  which  the  former 
might  pass.  The  immigration  act  of  1907  authorized  the 
President  to  exclude  from  continental  United  States  any  im- 
migrants holding  passports  not  specifically  entitling  them  to 
enter  this  country.  In  March,  1907,  the  President  exercised 
this  power  in  regard  to  Japanese  coming  to  this  country 
from  Mexico,  Canada,  and  Hawaii;  and,  under  a  passport 
agreement  of  the  same  year,  the  Japanese  government  refuses 
to  issue  passports  for  laborers  desiring  to  come  to  this  coun- 
try. A  new  treaty  signed  in  1911  omits  all  reference  to  the 
matter  of  Japanese  immigration;  but  the  Japanese  govern- 
ment has  officially  declared  that  it  will  maintain  the  limitation 
and  control  over  emigration  which  it  has  exercised  since  1907. 
The  treaty  provisions,  however,  place  the  matter  of  restric- 
tion of  Japanese  immigration  on  the  same  plane  as  that  from 
European  countries.  The  Japanese  government  is  also  limit- 
ing the  emigration  of  laborers  to  Hawaii.  During  the  fiscal 
year  ending  June  30,  1908,  9,544  Japanese  were  admitted 
into  continental  United  States,  arid  4,796  departed.  In  the 


IMMIGRATION  357 

following  fiscal  year  only  2,432  were  admitted  while  5,004 
departed.  In  Hawaii  the  number  of  Japanese  admitted 
declined  from  8,694  in  1908  to^  1,493  m  1909. 

Conclusion.  The  chief  benefits  of  immigration  are:    i.  It 
/    furnishes  a  supply  of  laborers.     2.  Immigration  hastens  the 
/      introduction  of  division  of  labor  and  the  resort  to  large-scale 
N.     productionT~37The  mingling  of  different  races  tends  to  dilute 
\  the  extreme  individuality  of  the  Anglo-Saxon.     The  most 
\notable  evils  of  immigration  may  be  summarized  as  follows: 
li.  It  tends  lo^-edttce-wages-and  to  lead  to  the  introduction  of 
/lower  standards^of  living.     2.  The  balancing  of  nationality 
/  against  nationality  generates  certain  political  evils.    3.  Im- 
migration tends  to  produce  and  to  aggravate  crises  and  cycles 
x     of  over-production.    4.  It  tends  to  produce  a  sort  of  caste 
system  in  the  United  States.     5.  It  leads  to  a  reduction  of  the 
native  birth-rate,  and  causes  race  suicide.     6.  Asiatic  immi- 
gration stimulates  race  prejudice,  and  interferes  with  una- 
nimity of  feeling  and  action  on  the  part  of  organized  labor. 
The  solidarity  of  the  working  class  is  endangered  by  the  intro- 
duction of  racial  hatreds.     7.  Immigration  sometimes  delays 
the    introduction    of    improved    machinery.     The    following 
points  are  worthy  of  consideration  in  connection  with  the 
immigration  problem,     (a)  Is  the  erection  of  dikes  to  hold 
back  the  flood  of  immigration  an  evidence  of  national  weak- 
ness?    (6)  Is  it  better  to  raise  the  standard  of  living  in  one 
part  of  the  world  and  let  its  influence  spread  by  contact  and 
imitation,  or  is  it  preferable  to  attempt  to  lift  all  at  once  and 
only  a  little  way?     (c)  Too  great  differences  in  the  character 
of  peoples  composing  a  mixed  population  tend  to  produce  a 
caste  system.     (</)   The  change  from  the  domestic  to  the 
factory  system  in  Japan  and  China  may  temporarily  increase 
the  demand  for  an  outlet  for  their  surplus  population,     (e) 
Are  the  socialists  playing  into  the  hands  of  the  employing 
class  when  they  demand  unrestricted  immigration? 


358    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

REFERENCES  FOR  FURTHER  READING 

Report  of  the  Immigration  Commission,  created  by  the  Act  of  1907, 
40  volumes. 

Brief  Statement  of  the  Conclusions  and  Recommendations  of  the  Immigra- 
tion Commission  (1910). 

Adams  and  Sumner,  Labor  Problems.     Ch.  3. 

Commons,  Races  and  Immigrants. 

Hall,  Immigration. 

Report  of  the  Industrial  Commission.     Vols.  15  and  19  :  957-1030.  - 

Reports  of  the  Commissioner  of  Immigration. 

The  Annals  of  the  American  Academy,  September,  1909,  contains 
several  valuable  articles  upon  the  Chinese  and  Japanese  in  America. 

Balch,  Our  Slavic  Fellow  Citizens. 

Bliss,  New  Encyclopedia  of  Social  Reform.    Article  on  Immigration. 

Woods,  Americans  in  Process. 

Steiner,  On  the  Trail  of  the  Immigrant. 

Addams,  Newer  Ideals  of  Peace.     Ch.  3. 

Walker,  Discussions  in  Economics  and  Statistics.     Vol.  2  :  417-451. 

Franklin,  History  of  Naturalization  in  the  United  States.     Chs.  11-14. 

Hadley,  Economics.     Ch.  13. 

Smith,  R.  M.,  Emigration  and  Immigration. 

File,  Industrial  and  Social  Conditions  during  the  Civil  War.     Ch.  7. 

Mitchell,  Organized  Labor.     Ch.  21. 

Ripley,  "Races  in  the  United  States,"  Atlantic  Monthly.    Vol.  102: 

745-759- 

Willcox,  "Distribution  of  Immigration,"  Quarterly  Journal  of 
Economics.  August,  1906. 

Huebner,  "The  Americanization  of  the  Immigrant,"  Annals  of  the 
American  Academy.  May,  1906. 

Ward,  "The  Agricultural  Distribution  of  Immigrants,"  Popular 
Science  Monthly.  Vol.  66  :  166  et  seq. 


CHAPTER  XII 
THE  SWEATED  INDUSTRIES 

THE  sweated  industries  are  survivals  of  the  old  form  of 
domestic  industry  which  preceded  the  factory  system.  There 
is  no  hard  and  fast  line  of  demarcation  between  the  sweated 
industries  and  those  called  factory  industries  on  one  hand 
or  those  termed  arts  and  crafts  shops  on  the  other.  The 
distinguishing  characteristics  usually  found  in  a  sweated 
industry  are(  lqw_wages,  a  long  working  day,  insanitary  work- 
shops, and  speeded-up  workers;  of  these  four  characteristics 
£Ee  emphasis  should  be  placed  upon  the  first. .)  The  adjectives 
-Jow,  long,  insanitary,  and  speeded-up  —  are  more  or  less 
indefinite,  unstandardized,  and  changing.  The  conditions 
favorable  to  the  development  of  sweated  industries  are  found 
in  large  cities  and  their  suburbs  where  it  is  easy  to  obtain 
immigrant,  women,  and  children  laborers,  in  industries  in 
which  inexpensive  or  no  machinery  is  necessary,  in  businesses 
where  the  contract  system  is  used,  and  in  industries  in  which 
the  demand  for  products  is  irregular,  seasonal,  or  highly  indi- 
vidualized. Other  characteristics  are  "minute  subdivision  of 
labor,  the  lack  of  organization  among  the  workers,  and  the 
difficulty  of  adequate  inspection.  A  sweated  industry  is 
essentially  a  "parasitic  industry."  It  is  an  industry  in  which 
the  wages  paid  and  the  conditions  of  work  are  such  that  wage 
earners  and  their  families  cannot  be  supported  upon  even  a 
decent  minimum  scale  of  living.  If  all  industries  in  the 
nation  were  sweated,  "the  entire  nation  would,  generation 
by  generation,  steadily  degrade  in  character  and  industrial 

359 


360    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

efficiency."  The  sweating  system  degrades  the  worker  to 
the  level  of  the  brute  or  to  that  of  the  machine.  The  nation 
indirectly  pays  a  bounty  so  that  the  parasitic  industries  may 
be  maintained. 

Sweated  work  is  performed  in  two  classes  of  workshops. 
The  smallshop  managed  by  the  contractor  or  sub-contractor 
in  a  tenement  or  dwelling  house  is  the  first  type.  The  typical 
sweater's  shop  is  small,  badly  lighted  and  ventilated,  poorly 
equipped,  and  insanitary.  Sweating  is  also  found  inthe  home. 
Individuals  working  with  the  assistance  of  the  other^nembers 
of  the  family  in  the  living  and  sleeping  rooms  of  the  family 
make  up  the  second  type  of  sweated  industries.  The  first 
form  of  sweating  is  being  gradually  pushed  to  the  wall  because 
of  the  encroachments  of  the  factory,  the  breaking  down  of 
the  contract  system,  the  improvement  of  legislation  in  regard 
to  sweatshops,  and  the  work  of  labor  organizations.  Although 
public  sentiment  is  opposed  to  its  continuation,  the  second 
type  of  sweating  is  more  persistent;  and  it  is  unfortunately 
stimulated  by  the  development  of  some  kinds  of  factory 
industry.  Certain  machine-made  garments  and  other  arti- 
cles —  factory  products  —  are  often  sent  out  of  the  factory 
to  the  homes  to  be  finished.  Employers  are  thus  able  to 
reduce' certain  expenses  in  their  plant,  such  as  shop  supervision, 
lighting,  heating,  rentals,  and  equipment.  Home  finishing 
is  a  cheap  mode  of  production  in  the  clothing  industry;  and 
the  seasonal  nature  of  the  industry  increases  its  advantage 
over  factory  finishing.  "There  are  but  a  few  manufacturers 
who  make  garments  on  a  large  scale  that  do  not  shift  part  of 
the  burden  of  the  cost  of  these  items  to  the  shoulders  of  their 
workers.  A  small  number  of  them  provide  sufficient  space 
in  the  shop  for  the  finishers,  to  meet  normal  conditions  at 
least,  and  only  resort  to  home  finishing  during  a  rush 
period.  The  contractor,  or  the  'sweater,'  as  he  is  called, 
who  makes  up  the  Sulk  of  the  producTirr  New  York,  seldom 


THE  SWEATED  INDUSTRIES  361 

or  never  makes  such  provision."1  In  this  form  of  sweating 
the  work  of  women  and  children  who  otherwise  would  not 
be  employed  in  gainful  industry  is  utilized.  Much  of  the 
work  is  intermittent  and  is  performed  along  with  the 
ordinary  household  work.  The  wages  paid  are  small;  but  in 
many  cases  the  income  derived  by  finishing  garments  at 
home  merely  supplements  the  regular  family  income.  "But 
this  low  rate  yields  only  starvation  wages  to  those  who 
have  to  depend  upon  it  alone  for  their  livelihood;"  and  the 
competition  of  those  who  are  working  for  "piri^mogev"  tends 
to  keep  the  wages  at  "starvation"  rates.  The  factory  has 
snatched  many  industries  out  of  the  home,  fundamentally 
changing  the  industrial  character  of  the  latter;  it  now  returns 
to  certain  homes  a  specialized  remnant  of  what  was  formerly  a 
household  occupation.  But  the  conditions  under  which  the 
special  work  is  done  are  often  such  as  to  breed  disease 
and  degeneration  among  the  workers. 

Many  employers  are  eager  to  promote  this  kind  of  home 
work  in  connection  with  the  factory  system.  A  speaker  at 
the  annual  meeting  of  the  Citizens'  Industrial  Association 
held  in  Battle  Creek  in  _i 0,07,  stated  that  in  his  home 
town  in  southern  Indiana  many  women  did  chair  bottom- 
ing at  home,  receiving  the  assistance  of  their  children. 
This  delegate  spoke  in  glowing  terms  of  this  mild  form 
of  sweating.  He  said  that  work  in  the  home  was  prefer- 
able to  sending  children  to  the  factory  as  they  were  under 
the  care  of  the  mother  while  at  work.  This  plea  resembles 
an  old  argument  made  three-quarters  of  a  century  ago 
against  the  public  school,  —  namely,  that  it  took  the  child 
out  of  the  home  and  away  from  the  care  of  the  mother. 
The  speaker  at  Battle  Creek  took  for  granted  apparently 
the  desirability  of  gainful  industry  on  the  part  of  the 
wives  and  young  children  of  workingmen.  The  root  argu- 

1  Report  on  Conditions  of  Woman  and  Child  Wage-earners  in  the  United 
States.  Vol.  2  :  302. 


362     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

ment  undoubtedly  was  that  this  form  of  sweating  involved 
the  utilization  of  cheap  labor. 

Among  the  sweated  industries  carried  on  largely  in  homes 
and  in  which  young  children  are  frequently  utilized  are  the 
manufacture  of  artificial  flowers,  sewing  tapes  in  kid. gloves, 
millinery  work,  making  garters,  shelling  nuts,  putting  cords 
in  peffcils  for  souvenir  cards,  stringing  beads,  sewing  men's 
neckties,  covering  buttons  with  braid,  finishing  leather  post- 
cards, putting  buttons  on  a  card,  finishing  corset  covers,  and 
manufacturing  false  hair  switches.  Cigars  and  cigarettes  are 
frequently  manufactured  under  the  conditions  of  a  sweated 
industry;  but  the  clothing  industry  is  the  most  important  of 
all  sweated  industries. 

Sweating  in  the  Clothing  Industry.  Four  stages  in  the 
development  of  the  clothing  industry  have  been  traced.  The 
journeyman  was  a  skilled  mechanic  who  made  the  entire  | 
garment  himself.  The  home  shoELwith  some  division  of  labor  ^ 
followed.  The  third  stage  witnessed  the  introduction  of  the 
unique  "lask  system"  among  the  Jewish  immigrants  in  New  3 
York  City.  The  task  system  originated  and  continues  in 
New  York;  it  does  not  flourish  elsewhere.  The  task  system 
arose  during  the  influx  of  Jewish  immigrants  between  1876 
and  1882.  In  the  task  system  a  team  of  three,  consisting  of 
("a  machine  operator,  a  baster,  and  a  finisher \  work  together. 
(For  every  three  teams,  two  pressers  and  several  girls  £o  sew 
on  pockets  and  buttons  and  to  do  a  few  other  simple  opera- 
tions are  employed.  There  is  necessity  for  a  nice  adjustment 
within  a  team  so  that  each  member  may  complete  his  work 
so  as  to  pass  it  on  to  the  next  one  as  soon  as  the  latter  is 
ready  to  receive  it.  A  certain  amount  of  work,  called  a 
"task,"  is  supposed  to  be  done  in  a  day;  but  fierce  competi- 
tion has  gradually  increased  the  amount  of  the  task  until 
frequently,  with  the  most  strenuous  endeavors,  the  task  cannot 
be  completed  without  working  from  twelve  to  fourteen  hours 


THE  SWEATED  INDUSTRIES  363 

per  day.  The  task  system  is  a  peculiarly  undesirable  form 
of  the  piece  work  system  of  wage  payment.  The  Jewish 
workers,  with  their  intense  desire  to  accumulate  and  to  be 
emancipated  from  hard  work  as  wage  earners,  are  peculiarly 
adapted  to  the  task  system.  Again,  the  Jews  are  restless 
under  the  rigid  routine  and  constant  supervision  of  the 
factory;  but  the  comparative  freedom  in  the  small  shop 
under  the  task  system  is  attractive  to  them.1 

In  the  fourth  stage  in  the  evolution  of  the  clothing  industry 
is  found  the  factory  system.  The  factory  is  gaining  upon  the 
sweat-shop  of  thte  contractor.  In  time  the  factory  may  de- 
stroy the  first  form  of  sweating  in  the  clothing  industry.  The 
contractor  or  sweater  operating  a  small  shop  has  flourished 
because  (a)  he  has-been  able  to  utilize  immigrant  labor,  and 
because  (6)  of  theseasonal  demand,  the  constantly  changing 
styles,  and  the  demand  for  tailor-made  garments. 

"The  man  best  fitted  to  be  a  sweater  is  the  man  who  is  well 
acquainted  with  his  neighbors,  who  is  able  to  speak  the  lan- 
guage of  several  classes  of  immigrants,  who  can  easily  persuade 
his  neighbors  or  their  wives  and  children  to  work  for  him, 
and  in  this  way  can  obtain  the  cheapest  help." 2  The  sweater 
takes  advantage  of  the  helplessness,  the  isolation,  and  the 
ignorance  of  the  newly  arrived  immigrant  who  cannot  speak 
English.  The  long  working  day  and  the  conditions  under 
which  the  sweat-shop  worker  is  employed  practically  eliminate 
all  opportunity  for  learning  the  English  language  and  gaining 
a  knowledge  of  American  customs  and  standards  of  living. 
The  sweater  has  been  an  important  factor  in  causing  and  con- 
tinuing segregation  of  nationalities  within  our  large  cities. 

In  recent  years  the  demand  for  men's  and  women's  ready- 
made  clothing  is  increasing.  Large  department  stores  that 
formerly  sold  only  a  cheap  grade  of  ready-made  clothing  are 

1  Report  of  Industrial  Commission.     Vol.  15  :  345-348. 
1  Ibid.,  p.  320. 


364    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

gradually  stocking  up  with  more  expensive  clothing,  and  are 
catering  to  a  class  of  customers  who  formerly  patronized  only 
merchant  tailors.  This  movement  toward  standardization 
in  the  clothing  industry  will  aid  the  factories  in  overcoming 
the  competition  of  the  small  shop.  Overalls,  army  clothing, 
and  cheaper  garments  which  are  not  affected  by  changes  in 
the  fashion  are  made  in  factories  which  successfully  compete 
with  the  small  establishment.  There  is  reason  to  believe 
that  the  clothing  industry  is  following  along  the  path  pursued 
by  the  boot  and  shoe  industry.  The  custom-made  boot  or 
shoe  has  been  replaced  by  the  factory-made  and  standardized 
product;  and  the  tailor-made  suit  is  slowly  being  replaced  by 
the  factory-made  suit.  The  substitution  of  the  factory  for 
the  small  shop  or  sweat-shop  will  probably  take  place  very 
slowly  as  long  as  the  immigration  of  large  numbers  of  un- 
skilled workers  continues.  As  has  been  indicated,  the  factory 
may  utilize  the  home  workers  to  finish  certain  articles,  thus 
prolonging  the  existence  of  the  second  and  more  dangerous 
form  of  the  sweated  industry. 

Wages  in  the  Sweated  Industries.  The  wages  paid  in  the 
sweated  industries  are  pitiably  low,  particularly  when  the 
work  is  done  in  the  home.  Various  investigators  have  col- 
lected wage  statistics.1  Only  a  few  statistics  will  be  here 
presented.  In  1902  the  average  wage  of  women  in  New 
York  City  engaged  in  finishing  clothing  at  home  was  esti- 
mated to  be  $3.67  per  week;  makers  of  artificial  flowers 
averaged  $4.07.  In  1903,  in  Chicago,  boys'  knee  pants  were 
finished  at  from  six  to  seven  cents  per  pair;  and  Ascot  ties  at 
two  and  one-half  cents  per  dozen.  In  New  York,  in  1907, 

1  Van  Kleeck,  "  Child  Labor  in  New  York  City  Tenements,"  Chanties  and  the 
Commons,  January  18,  1908;  Butler,  "Sweated  work  in  Hudson  County,  New 
Jersey,"  Ibid.,  December  21,  1907;  MacLean,  "The  Sweat-shop  in  Summer," 
American  Journal  of  Sociology,  November,  1903;  Report  of  the  Industrial 
Commission.  Vol.  15. 


THE  SWEATED  INDUSTRIES  365 

white  roses,  seven  pieces  per  flower,  were  made  in  homes  at 
six  cents  per  gross;  and  cords  were  attached  to  souvenir  pencils 
at  forty  cents  per  thousand.  Stems  were  pasted  on  white 
silk  leaves  at  two  cents  per  gross;  and  Windsor  ties  were 
turned  and  hemstitched  at  ten  cents  per  dozen.  The  hours 
of  work  are  indefinite  and  irregular;  and  the  quantity  of  work 
furnished  from  day  to  day  is  often  extremely  variable. 

The  Sweat-Shop  and  the  Consumer.  The  workers  in  the 
sweat-shop  are  not  the  only  persons  whose  health  and  effi- 
ciency are  endangered  by  the  insanitary  conditions  which 
usually  obtain.  Clothing,  especially  if  made  of  wool,  absorbs 
filth  and  disease  germs  readily  during  the  process  of  manufac- 
ture; and  it  is  very  difficult  to  dislodge  disease  germs  which 
have  found  lodgment  in  a  garment.  Garments  made  in 
homes  infect3d  with  the  germs  of  various  diseases,  such  as 
tuberculosis,  smallpox,  StCarleLfever,  or  measles,  may  carry 
the  Infection  into  the  homes  of  purchasers,  and  thus  endanger 
many  lives.  "One  cannot  quiet  his  conscience  by  announc- 
ing that  he  goes  to  high  price  clothiers  for  his  garments,  and 
so  cannot  come  in  contact  with  sweated  goods;  hence  he  is 
free  from  responsibility  in  the  matter.  Such  soothing  syrup 
may  prove  fatal  in  the  end.  In  the  first  place,  the  mere  fact 
of  buying  expensive  clothing  does  not  exempt  one  from  the 
danger  of  tenement-house  goods.  The  tailor  who  charges 
fancy  prices  is  quite  liable  to  let  his  work  out  by  contract,  and 
the  original  contractor,  though  not  a  sweater  himself,  may 
sublet  the  work  to  one  who  is;  and  so  one's  hundred-dollar 
coat  may  repose  on  the  bed  of  a  scarlet-fever  patient  before 
it  is  delivered  ready  for  use.  Costliness  alone  is  no  guarantee 
that  a  garment  is  made  under  decent  conditions."1  Indeed, 
many  cheap  garments  such  as  overalls  are  usually  made  in 
factories  where  the  danger  of  infection  is  slight.  The  con- 
sumer is  vitally  interested  in  the  abolition  of  the  sweat-shop. 

1  MacLean,  American  Journal  oj  Sociology.    Vol.  9  :  301. 


366    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

Legislation.  Twelve  states  —  Connecticut,  Illinois,  In- 
diana, Maryland,  Massachusetts,  Michigan,  Missouri,  New 
Jersey,  New  York,  Ohio,  Pennsylvania,  and  Wisconsin  — 
have  passed  laws  regulating  manufacture  in  tenements-  and 
dwelling,  houses.  These  acts  regulating  the  conditions  of 
manufacture  are  held  to  constitute  a  reasonable  and  desirable 
extension  of  the  police  power  of  the  state.  The  Maryland 
Court  of  Appeals  in  sustaining  the  sweat-shop  act  of  1902 
which  had  been  declared  null  and  void  in  a  lower  court  used 
the  following  language:  "The  whole  scheme  of  the  act  ap- 
pears to  us  to  be  in  furtherance  of  the  protection  and  preser- 
vation of  the  public  health,  and,  whatever  criticism  may  be 
made  upon  the  method  of  its  enforcement,  no  convincing 
reason  has  been  suggested  to  show  that  its  terms  have  not  a 
real  and  substantial  relation  to  the  subject  of  the  police  power 
of  the  state."1  In  1885  the  New  York  Court  of  Appeals 
declared  a  law  forbidding  the  manufacture  of  cigars  in  tene- 
ments unconstitutional.  The  judges  were  unable  to  under- 
stand how  the  cigar  makers'  morals  or  health  would  be 
improved  by  forcing  persons  to  work  away  from  their  homes 
with  their  "hallowed  associations  and  beneficent  influ- 
ences." The  old  question  of  liberty  is  involved.  Can  a 
man  be  legally  restrained  in  the  interests  of  the  public 
good  from  working  wherever  and  under  whatever  condi- 
tions he  may  see  fit  or  be  forced  to  accept?2 

The  sweat-shop  law  of  Michigan  is  a  reasonably  good 
statute.  It  provides  that,  unless  a  written  permit  is  obtained 
from  the  factory  inspector,  no  room  or  apartment  of  any 
tenement  or  dwelling  house  shall  be  used  for  the  purpose  of 
manufacturing  any  one  of  a  long  list  of  enumerated  articles. 
This  list  included  practically  all  articles  of  wearing  apparel, 
purses,  artificial  flowers,  cigars,  and  cigarettes.  The  New 

1  Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor.    No.  58  :  1001. 

2  This  point  was  discussed  in  a  preceding  chapter. 


THE  SWEATED  INDUSTRIES  367 

York  law  also  specifies  the  manufacture,  preparing,  or  packing 
of  macaroni,  spaghetti,  ice-cream,  ices,  candy,  confectionery, 
nuts,  and  preserves.  The  permit  shall  not  be  granted  until 
the  premises  have  been  inspected  by  the  factory  inspector  or 
his  deputy,  and  found  to  be  in  proper  condition  as  to  ventila- 
tion, heating,  and  lighting.  This  permit  must  be  posted  and 
may  be  revoked  by  the  factory  inspector  "at  any  time  the 
health  of  the  community  or  of  those  so  employed  may  require 
it."  None  of  the  kinds  of  work  enumerated  shall  be  performed 
in  sleeping  rooms  or  in  rooms  not  having  a  separate  outside 
entrance,  except  in  the  case  of  work  performed  wholly  by 
members  of  the  family.  No  material  shall  be  given  out  by 
any  person  or  firm  to  contractors  or  sub-contractors  until  the 
permit  has  been  produced  by  > the  latter;  and  a  register  shall 
be  kept  of  the  names  and  addresses  of  all  persons  to  whom 
material  has  been  supplied.  A  seamstress  may  be  employed 
to  manufacture  articles  for  the  family  use  without  applying 
for  a  permit.  A  penalty  is  prescribed  for  the  violation 
of  the  act. 

Practically  all  the  sweat-shop  laws  enumerate  a  list,  as  does 
Michigan,  of  regulated  tenement  industries;  and  industries 
not  included  in  the  list  are  not  subject  to  regulation.  Many 
of  the  sweated  industries  mentioned  in  a  preceding  paragraph, 
such  as  covering  buttons  and  shelling  nuts,  are  therefore 
not  subject  to  regulation  by  the  factory  inspector. 

Connecticut,  Illinois,  Missouri,  and  Ohio  do  not  require 
the  issuance  of  permits  or  licenses,  but  Connecticut  and  Illi- 
nois provide  that  the  factory  inspector  shall  be  notified  when- 
ever a  shop  is  opened  in  a  tenement  or  a  dwelling  house.  The 
license  provision  is  a  very  desirable  and  effective  requirement. 
It  "is  far  more  effective  than  any  penalty  imposed  in  court, 
since  it  avoids  the  delay  of  court  proceedings  and  takes  from 
the  violator  the  means  of  earning  a  living."  Licensing  and 
registering  also  lighten  the  work  of  the  factory  inspectors;  but 


368    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

the  work  is  carried  on  in  so  many  small  and  obscure  shops  and 
rooms  scattered  over  a  wide  area  that  inspection  is  always 
difficult.  On  the  other  hand,  the  sweaters  have  as  a  rule 
little  political  influence.  Restrictive  legislation  and  efficient 
inspection  will  do  much  to  reduce  the  glaring  evils  of  the 
sweat-shop;  but  such  legislation  is  not  curative.  Other 
remedial  measures  are  necessary  before  the  dangerous  forms 
of  the  sweat-shop  are  eradicated. 

Remedies.  The  remedies  which  may  be  proposed  to  remove 
the  evils  in  connection  with  the  sweat-shop  are  a  multitude. 
No  one  of  the  many  proposed  remedies  is  adequate  to  cope 
with  the  difficulty;  but  a  combination  of  several  may  in  time 
prove  effective.  The  important  proposals  may  be  sum- 
marized under  four  classes:  /Legislation,  trade  unionism, 
education,  and  systematization  of  industry,  j  i.  Legislation. 
There  are  two  kinds  of  legislation  directed  against  the  sweat- 
shop: restrictive  laws  and  minimum  wage  laws.  The  former 
were  discussed  in  the  preceding  paragraph.  One  additional 
form  of  restrictive  legislation  which  might  act  as  a  palliative 
would  be  the  restriction  of  immigration. 

Since  the  sweat-shop  is  essentially  parasitic,  the  establish- 
ment by  law  of  a  minimum  wage  payment  which  would  yield 
sufficient  income  to  the  wage  earner  to  maintain  physical 
vigor  would  strike  at  the  root  of  the  evil.  If  the  sweat-shops 
were  not  allowed  to  pay  abnormally  low  wages,  competition 
would  soon  force  them  out  of  existence.  The  minimum  could 
be  determined  by  a  study  of  the  budgets  of  wage  earners.  It 
should  be  a  "living  wage."  The  establishment  of  a  minimum 
wage  might  force  certain  establishments  out  of  business;  but 
the  nation  can  well  afford  to  lose  any  industry  which  cannot 
pay  sufficient  wages  to  maintain  its  wage  earners  in  health  and 
efficiency.  However,  few  would  be  forced  out  of  existence;  the 
methods  of  manufacture  would  merely  be  adjusted  to  meet 
the  added  cost  of  labor  power.  Artificial  flowers  are  produced 


THE  SWEATED  INDUSTRIES  369 

'n  large  quantities  in  sweat-shops;  the  sweat-shop  is  profit- 
able because  insufficient  wages  are  paid  to  adequately  support 
the  workers.  If  a  minimum  wage  were  introduced,  the  in- 
dustry would  not  be  destroyed,  but  the  work  would  be  per- 
formed in  factories,  and  more  machinery  would  probably  be 
utilized.  Establish  a  minimum  wage  in  the  clothing  industry, 
whether  by  law  or  through  trade  union  action,  and  the  trend 
toward  the  factory  would  be  accelerated.  Minimum  wage 
laws  aid  the  better  class  of  employers  by  preventing  unscru- 
pulous competitors  from  employing  labor  under  parasitic 
conditions.  Like  laws  preventing  adulteration,  they  prevent 
" unfair"  competition.  The  establishment  of  a  minimum 
wage  would  leave  some  overdriven  and  underpaid  workers 
without  a  job.  Others  would  have  better  jobs.  The  unem- 
ployed would  become  charges  upon  society,  temporarily  at 
least.  The  sweat-shop  is,  on  the  other  hand,  an  expense  to 
the  nation;  it  increases  physical  weakness,  degeneracy,  crime, 
and  prostitution. 

The  representatives  at  the  meeting  of  the  International 
Association  for  Labor  Legislation  held  at  Lucerne  in  Septem- 
ber, 1908,  recognizing  low  wages  as  the  fundamental  cause  of 
the  sweat-shop  evils,  urged  that  steps  be  taken  to  establish  a 
minimum  wage  for  weak  and  unprotected  classes  of  labor. 
In  1909  the  British  Parliament  passed  an  anti-sweating  act 
which  became  a  law  in  September  of  that  year.  The  law  pro- 
vides for  boards  with  power  to  fix  a  minimum  wage  in  cer- 
tain sweated  industries.  Penalties  are  provided  for  employers 
disregarding  the  findings  of  the  board.  Employers  and  em- 
ployees are  represented  upon  the  boards.  Separate  boards 
may  be  established  for  each  trade  or  branch  of  a  trade  or 
industry.  At  first,  boards  are  only  to  be  established  in  four 
industries:  wholesale  tailoring,  cardboard  box  making,  lace 
finishing,  and  chain  making.  A  board  is  expected  to  study  the 
conditions  in  the  industry  for  which  it  is  appointed,  and  to  fix 


370    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

minimum  wages  for  both  day  and  piece  work.  The  Board  of 
Trade  may  extend,  provided  Parliament  consents,  the  provi- 
sions of  the  law  to  other  industries.  Although  Parliament 
has  sanctioned  the  principle  of  a  minimum  wage,  it  definitely 
maintains  control  over  the  extension  of  its  application.1 

The  most  famous  and  important  attempt  at  establishing 
minimum  wages  has  been  made  in  Victoria.  The  law  was 
first  passed  in  1896  as  a  temporary  measure,  and  was  amended 
and  extended  in  1900,  1903,  and  1905.  In  1900  South  Aus- 
tralia provided  for  the  establishment  of  minimum  wage  boards 
similiar  to  those  of  Victoria.  The  appointment  of  such  boards 
was  made  dependent  upon  the  passage  of  a  resolution  by 
Parliament.  The  upper  house  has  not  seen  fit  to  concur  in 
the  matter.  In  1908  New  South  Wales  passed  a  minimum 
wage  act.  One  clause  of  the  law  reads:  "No  workman  or 
shop  assistant  shall  be  employed  unless  in  receipt  of  a  weekly 
wage  of  at  least  four.,  shillings,  irrespective  of  any  amount 
earned  as  overtime."  Overtime  means  working  over  forty- 
eight  hours  in  any  week  or  after  six  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 
A  minimum  is  thus  established  for  the  industries  of  the  colony. 
As  was  indicated  in  a  preceding  chapter,  the  law  of  1908  su- 
persedes that  of  1901  providing  for  courts  of  arbitration.  It 
provides  for  wage  boards  in  the  important  industries,  with  a 
restricted  right  of  appeal  to  an  industrial  court.  In  Victoria 
boards  may  be  appointed  in  the  clothing,  furniture,  baking, 
butchering,  and  "small-goods"  trades.  Boards  may  also  be 
appointed  in  any  factory  industry,  provided  the  Parliament  of 
the  colony  deems  it  expedient.  A  separate  board  is  formed 
for  each  industry;  the  members  are  appointed  by  the  gov- 
ernor unless  protest  is  made  by  the  employer  or  employees 
concerned.  In  such  an  event  the  choice  is  made  by  the 
parties  to  the  dispute.  In  Victoria  minimum  wage  boards 
are  in  operation  in  nearly  forty  trades  and  their  findings 

1  The  act  is  reprinted  in  The  Quarterly  Journal  of  Economics.    May,  1910. 


THE  SWEATED  INDUSTRIES  371 

directly  affect  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  workers  of  the 
colony.1 

A  board  may  fix  minimum  day  or  piece  wages;  but  accord- 
ing to  the  1903  law  it  is  required  to  ascertain  the  average 
"rates  of  payment  paid  by  reputable  employers  of  average 
capacity."  The  lowest  wage  fixed  by  the  board  may  not 
exceed  the  average  wage  thus  ascertained.  Evidence  as  to 
the  cost  of  living  and  as  to  profits  in  the  industry  are  not 
admitted.  /In  case  the  average  wage  paid  in  the  industry 
is  not  deemed  satisfactory  as  a  minimum,  the  whole  matter 
may  be  referred  to  the  court  of  industrial  appeals.  This 
court  was  established  under  the  act  of  1903;  it  may  proceed  to 
fix  wages  without  being  bound  by  the  limitations  of  the  mini- 
mum wage  board.  )  A  board  may  fix  the  length  of  the  regular 
working  day  and  determine  the  rate  to  be  paid  for  overtime; 
and  it  is  allowed  to  fix  special  wage  rates  for  aged,  infirm,  or 
slow  workers. 

"The  two  chief  objections  made  to  the  law  have  been  (i) 
that  it  was  unjust  to  the  old  and  the  slow  worker,  and  that 
when  conditions  of  competition  make  it  worth  while  it  creates 
a  body  of  unemployed  whose  interest  it  is  to  evade  the  law, 
and  (2)  that  it  has  a  detrimental  effect  upon  industries.  Those 
who  support  the  law  maintain  (a)  that  it  has  practically  done 
away  with  sweating  and  has  been  an  influence  in  favor  of 
higher  wages,  (b)  that  it  has  not  affected  industries  un- 
favorably, and  (c)  that  it  has  been  influential  in  preventing 
industrial  conflicts  between  workers  and  their  employers."2 

The  minimum  wage  boards  of  Victoria  and  Great  Britain 
were  legalized  in  response  to  sentiment  opposed  to  the  sweat- 
shop. Theoretically,  the  sanction  for  minimum  wage  boards 
and  the  sanction  for  boards  of  arbitration  are  quite  different. 
The  latter  are  means  of  obtaining  and  preserving  industrial 

1  The  Survey.     May  22,  1909,  p.  296. 

2  Clark,  Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor.     No.  56  :  67. 


372     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

peace.  The  former  rest  upon  the  principle  that  social  pro- 
gress is  retarded  when  workers  are  paid  wages  which  are  so 
low  as  to  render  it  impossible  for  them  to  maintain  themselves 
and  family  in  an  adequate  and  decent  manner.  Or,  in  other 
words,  the  law  makers  recognize  that  a  parasitic  trade  is  a 
menace  to  the  well-being  of  any  community.  No  direct 
attempt  is  made  to  prevent  strikes  or  lockouts.  In  actual 
practice,  as  has  been  indicated  elsewhere,  the  minimum  wage 
boards  and  boards  of  industrial  arbitration  accomplish  almost 
the  same  ends.  Many  difficulties  have  arisen  in  Victoria  in 
connection  with  the  enforcement  of  the  minimum  wage  laws. 
In  the  United  States  enforcement  would  doubtless  be  more 
difficult.  Fixing  the  maximum  number  of  hours  to  be  worked 
per  week  and  per  year  may  be  a  better  and  more  practical 
method  of  attacking  the  sweated  industries. 

2.  Trade  Unionism.     The  organization  of  the  workers  in 
the  sweated  industries  is  exceedingly  difficultfbecause  of  the 
constant  influx  of  immigrants  into  the  sweat-shops,  and  the 
ignorance  and  isolation  of  the  workers.  )  The  unions  among  the 
workers  in  the  clothing  industries  are  increasing  in  strength, 
but  it  hardly  seems  probable  that  the  unions  can  cope  effec- 
tively with  the  home  sweat-shop.     One  temporary  effect  of 
partial  organization  is  to  intensify  the  struggle  in  the  remain- 
ing or  unorganized  portion  of  the  field.     The  union  label  is 
also  used  as  a  means  of  decreasing  the  consumption  of  sweat- 
shop goods  and  increasing  the  consumption  of  union  and 
factory-made  articles. 

3.  Education.      Our  public  day  schools  and  public  and  pri- 
vate night  schools  can  do  little  for  the  overworked  and  under- 
fed sweat-shop  worker;  but  the  child  of  the  worker  may  be 
aided.     Compulsory  education  laws  and  laws  forbidding  child 
labor  enable  the  public  school   to  teach  and  influence  the 
children  of  the  slums  and  the  sweat-shop.     A  knowledge  of 
the  English  language  and  of  American   customs   tends   to 


THE  SWEATED  INDUSTRIES  373 

reduce  the  isolation,  which  is  a  powerful  bulwark  protecting 
and  prolonging  the  sweat-shop  evil.  Industrial  education  will 
give  the  child  greater  skill  and  mobility.  As  long  as  immigra- 
tion continues  unabated,  however,  the  school  system  cannot 
reach  the  heart  of  the  problem. 

As  a  weapon  against  the  sweated  industries,  education  of 
the  general  public  in  regard  to  the  dangers  of  the  sweat-shop 
is  held  in  high  esteem  by  many  thoughtful  observers.  The 
sweat-shop  will  certainly  die  a  natural  death  when  con- 
sumers refuse  to  purchase  its  products.  The  enthusiasts 
favoring  the  attack  upon  the  sweat-shop  by  directing  the 
demand  of  the  consumer  have  urged  publicity  as  to  the 
conditions  in  sweat-shops  and  the  dangers  to  the  consumer 
of  then*  products  from  infectious  diseases.  They  have 
taken  steps  to  make  it  possible  to  identify  goods  made 
and  sold  under  sanitary  conditions  and  where  living  wages 
are  paid. 

The  National  Consumers'  League  was  organized  in  1899  to 
conduct  a  campaign  of  education  against  the  sweat-shop. 
The  earliest  league  of  this  character  was  the  New  York  Con- 
sumers'  League  organized  in  1890.  The  Xew  York  organiza- 
tion directed  its  attention  chiefly  to  stores.  Stores  conducted 
under  "fair  conditions"  in  regard  to  wages  and  treatment  of 
employees  were  included  in  a  widely  circulated  "white  list," 
—  a  sort  of  negative  boycott  similar  in  nature  to  the  union 
label.  The  National  Consumers'  League  insists  that  the 
interests  of  the  community  and  of  the  nation  demand  that 
all  workers  shall  receive  living  wages,  and  that  all  goods  shall 
be  produced  under  healthful  conditions.  It  has  conducted 
a  vigorous  campaign  of  publicity,  and  in  recent  years  has 
aided  in  crystallizing  sentiment  in  favor  of  better  labor  laws. 
The  National  League  grants  the  right  to  use  the  Consumers' 
League  label  to  manufacturers  living  up  to  the  following  con- 
ditions Yobjdiejic£JxLJiie_^taJe_^actory  laws;  all  goods  sold  are 


374    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

made  upon  the  premises;  overtime  is  not  allowed;  and  no 
children  under  sixteen  years  of  age  are  employed.) 

While  the  work  of  the  National  Consumers'  League  in 
presenting  to  the  purchasing  public  a  picture  of  the  bad  con- 
ditions within  the  sweat-shop  and  in  calling  attention  to  the 
dangers  involved  in  wearing  clothing  made  under  such  con- 
ditions, has  been  of  considerable  value,  and  while  the  label 
has  been  of  some  importance  as  a  negative  weapon,  the  value 
of  such  attacks  upon  the  sweating  system  may  easily  be  over- 
estimated. The  sweat-shop  seems  far  away  to  the  majority 
of  consumers,  and  it  is  quite  difficult  for  the  average  pur- 
chaser to  visualize  the  bad  conditions  and  the  dangers 
associated  with  it  and  its  products.  The  frantic  rush  to  the 
bargain  counter  of  the  department  store  indicates  either  that 
the  ideals  and  principles  of  the  League  have  not  touched  the 
general  public  or  that  these  intangible  entities  give  way 
readily  before  the  tangible  and  forceful  appeal  of  the  pocket- 
book. 

The  leaders  of  the  League  seem  to  have  recognized  that 
publicity  and  the  negative  boycott  are  inadequate  weapons. 
In  1910  a  ten  years'  program  was  outlined.  The  important 
items  in  that  program  relate  to  agitation  for  legislation  of  a 
broad  and  general  type.  The  League  stands  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  minimum  wage  boards,  for  the  ten-hour  day  as 
the  maximum  for  wage  earning  women  in  all  states  of  the 
Union,  for  the  conservation  of  young  workers,  and  for  the 
improvement  of  our  pure  food  laws.  Under  the  head  of  con- 
serving young  workers  the  League  is  demanding  better  laws 
against  child  labor,  and  is  striving  to  secure  better  educa- 
tional provisions  for  working  girls  and  boys  from  sixteen  to 
twenty-one  years  of  age.1  The  Consumers'  League  evidently 
recognizes  that  the  abolition  of  the  sweat-shop  can  come  only 

Florence  Kelley,  "Ten  Years  from  Now,"  The  Survey.  March  26,  1910, 
pp.  978-981. 


THE  SWEATED  INDUSTRIES  375 

through  the  improvement  of  conditions  in  all  lines  of  industry. 
The  treatment  must  be  general,  not  local. 

4.  Systematization  of  Industry.  Irregularity  of  work  is  one 
characteristic  of  a  sweating  system.  Rush  seasons  are  fol- 
lowed by  dull  seasons;  the  sweated  worker  is  forced  for  a  few 
weeks  to  exert  himself  almost  to  the  limit  of  his  physical 
powers,  and  then  perhaps  he  will  be  out  of  work  during  the 
slack  season.  In  a  measure  this  irregularity  cannot  be  avoided. 
Especially  is  this  the  case  when  the  demand  is  dependent  upon 
the  whims  of  fashion.  No  manufacturer  is  able  to  foresee  the 
eccentricities  of  the  demands  of  fashion.  But  better  organi- 
zation of  the  particular  business  and  the  growth  of  the  factory 
system  will  measurably  reduce  the  pendulum  swing  from  rush 
to  slack  seasons;  by  manufacturing  in  the  slack  period  those 
garments  or  other  articles  for  which  the  demand  in  the  future 
may  be  calculated  with  a  fair  degree  of  accuracy,  the  irregu- 
larity can  be  somewhat  reduced.  The  growth  of  "trustifica- 
tion" in  industry  tends  to  eliminate  many  of  the  small  shops. 
The  large  business  is  capable  of  certain  economies  impossible 
in  the  case  of  the  small  shop,  and  it  is  best  able  to  coordinate 
supply  with  demand.  The  contractor  or  the  middleman  is 
pushed  to  the  wall  as  large  industry  reaches  out  for  all  forms 
of  profit.  As  has  been  indicated,  the  enlargement  of  the  busi- 
ness unit  is  gradually  eliminating  the  contractor's  sweat-shop. 
The  contractor  with  a  small  shop  is  being  changed  into  the 
foreman  of  a  department  in  a  factory;  but  the  home  sweat-shop 
may  still  persist  as  a  subsidiary  part  of  the  factory  system. 

Public  employment  bureaus  and  bureaus  for  the  distribu- 
tion of  immigrants  can  reduce  the  congestion  of  the  working 
population  in  our  cities,  and  in  a  measure  equalize  the  demand 
between  different  sections  of  the  country.  The  dovetailing 
of  seasonal  industries  so  as  to  give  wage  earners  opportuni- 
ties to  work  throughout  the  entire  year  would  reduce  the 
amount  of  overtime  worked  and  the  excessive  over-driving  of 


376    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

the  worker  during  the  rush  period  of  a  seasonal  and  a  sweated 
industry.  As  long  as  the  supply  of  unskilled  labor  is  redun- 
dant, the  economic  incentive  to  dovetail  industries  will,  how- 
ever, be  slight.  A  well  managed  and  extensive  system  of 
public  employment  bureaus  could  give  efficient  service  in 
transferring  workers  from  one  seasonal  industry  to  another. 
If,  however,  attempts  of  that  nature  increase  the  size  of  the 
homeless  and  itinerant  group  of  wage  earners,  the  resultant 
evils  may  equal  or  exceed  those  which  it  is  desired  to  reduce 
or  eliminate. 

Sweating  in  the  Factory.  The  characteristic  marks  of  a 
sweated  industry  are  found  in  many  large-scale  factory  indus- 
tries where  large  masses  of  unskilled  and  unorganized  or  not 
well  organized  workers  are  employed.  A  large  steel  corpora- 
tion which  works  its  blast  furnace  men  twelve  hours  per  day 
or  per  night  in  an  unhealthful  and  dangerous  environment 
is  conducting  a  sweated  industry.  The  longday,  the  severe 
physical  and  nervous  strain,  speeding-up,  and  the  prodding 
of  the  overseer  are  found  in  as  aggravated  a  form  as  in 
any  insignificant  sweat-shop  of  the  tenements.  The  incentive 
which  tends  to  produce  a  sweating  system  is  present  wherever 
the  foreman  gets  a  percentage  of  the  difference  between  the 
cost  of  the  material  plus  the  wages  and  the  value  of  the  prod- 
uct turned  out  in  his  department.  The  method  employed 
by  large  manufacturing  establishments  and  department  stores 
of  pitting  one  manager  against  another  and  of  comparing  the 
output  or  sales  this  month  or  this  year  with  preceding  months 
and  years,  certainly  is  well  calculated  to  develop  phases  of  a 
sweated  industry.  In  the  Chicago  stock  yards,  after  the  defeat 
of  the  unionists  in  the  strike  of  1904,  uncertainty  and  irregu- 
larity of  promotion  operated  to  speed  up  the  workers.  One 
observer  remarked  that  "a  sense  of  insecurity  prevailed  all 
along  the  line."  Each  man  was  anxious  to  replace  the  man 
above  him,  and  each  feared  that  he  would  be  superseded  by 


THE  SWEATED  INDUSTRIES  377 

the  man  in  the  ranks  below,  —  and  outside  the  gates  stood 
many,  anxiously  looking  for  jobs.  This  glance  at  the  ten- 
dency of  modern  business  engineering  leads  to  the  following 
query.  If  unchecked  by  legislative  enactments  and  trade 
union  action,  do  not  the  conditions  of  competitive  industry 
lead  to  the  long  working  day,  over-driving,  and  insanitary 
workshops,  —  that  is,  toward  a  sweating  system?  Is  not 
the  position  of  the  entrepreneur  between  the  consumer  and 
the  workingman  similar  to  that  of  the  foreman  or  the  con- 
tractor whose  profits  or  income  depends  on  the  amount  of 
work  turned  out  in  his  department  or  workshop? 

Within  the  last  two  or  three  decades  changes  have  taken 
place  in  certain  of  our  basic  industries  which  have  led  to  the 
development  of  working  and  living  conditions  approximating 
those  surrounding  the  typical  sweated  worker.  The  wood- 
men are  today  homeless  workers  in  logging  camps;  ice  is  also 
cut  by  the  homeless  man  living  in  the  bunk-house.  Con- 
struction gangs  working  on  railways,  canals,  reservoirs,  and 
the  like,  are  often  herded  together  like  cattle  and  live  in 
insanitary  quarters.  Berries  are  picked,  beet  and  onion 
fields  weeded,  and  the  grain  of  the  West  harvested  by  a  class 
of  floating  workers  living  and  working  under  abnormal  con- 
ditions, —  conditions  which  endanger  the  physical  and  moral 
stamina  of  the  workers.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  season 
many  drift  back  to  the  cities  to  increase  the  debauchery, 
disease,  and  crime  of  our  crowded  centers  of  population.  The 
problem  of  the  homeless  and  itinerant  worker  in  these  ele- 
mental industries  is  one  which  ought  to  attract  much  atten- 
tion. It  is  growing  in  importance.  Immediately  and  directly 
it  is  a  rural  problem;  but  more  remotely  and  indirectly  it 
complicates  the  social  problems  of  our  cities.  Publicity  and 
regulative  enactments  are  needed.1 

1  See  The  Survey,  Jan.  i,  1910  and  Aug.  7,  1909.  Also  Robins  in  Report  oj 
Conference  of  Charities  and  Correction,  1907. 


378    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

REFERENCES  FOR  FURTHER  READING 

Report  on  Condition  of  Woman  and  Child  Wage-earners  in  the  United 
States.  Vol.  2  (1911).  "Men's  Ready-made  Clothing,"  Senate  Docu- 
ment, No.  645,  Sixty-first  Congress,  second  session.  Chs.  5  and  6 
present  an  excellent  statement  of  sweating  in  the  clothing  industry. 

Commons,  "Foreign-Born  Labor  in  the  Clothing  Trades,"  Report 
of  the  Industrial  Commission.  Vol.  15:  316-384.  See  also  Vol.  19: 
740-746. 

Kelley,  Some  Ethical  Gains  through  Legislation,  pp.  209-255. 

Adams  and  Sumner,  Labor  Problems.     Ch.  4. 

Webb,  Industrial  Democracy,  pp.  749-760. 

Bolen,  Getting  A  Living.     Ch.  18. 

Hobson,  Problems  of  Poverty.     Chs.  4,  5,  and  6. 

Bliss,  New  Encyclopedia  of  Social  Reform.     Article  on  Sweat-Shops. 

New  International  Encyclopedia.  Articles  on  the  Consumers'  League 
and  the  Sweating  System. 

MacLean,  "The  Sweat-Shop  in  Summer,"  American  Journal  of 
Sociology.  Vol.  9  :  289. 

Sergeant,  "The  Toilers  of  the  Tenement,"  McClure's  Magazine. 
July,  1910. 

Clark,  "Labor  Conditions  in  Australia,"  Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  oj 
Labor.  No.  56.  Section  on  Minimum  Wage  Boards. 

Kelley,  "Ten  Years  from  Now,"  The  Survey.  March  26,  1910,  pp. 
978-981. 

Webb,  Problems  of  Modern  Industry,  pp.  139-155.    Remedies. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
CHILD   LABOR 

THE  child  labor  problem  is  only  a  part  of  the  more  inclusive 
boy  and  girl  problem  which  has  been  thrust  upon  an  unpre- 
pared nation  by  modern  industry  and  city  life.  To  the  wage 
earner  child  labor  appears  to  .be  a  form  of  subsidized  labor. 
The  dangers  involved  seem  to  be  similar  to  those  connected 
with  the  immigration  of  low-standard-of-living  workers,  with 
woman  labor,  and  with  convict  labor.  Child  labor  is  not  a  new 
phenomenon,  nor  is  it  in  essence  an  evil.  The  environmental 
conditions  surrounding  the  modern  child  wage  earner,  the 
kind  of  work  which  he  must  perform,  the  regularity  and 
routine  incidental  to  its  performance,  and  the  competition 
between  the  child  and  the  adult  workers  are  elements  which 
make  child  labor  in  factories,  stores,  and  mines  at  the  present 
time  an  evil  and  a  menace  to  the  race,  to  the  nation,  and  to 
organized  labor.  For  the  boy  and  girl  of  ten  to  sixteen  years 
of  age,  some  opportunity  to  perform  useful  work  —  produc- 
tive activity  —  is  a  valuable,  almost  an  essential,  part  of  his 
or  her  experience  and  training.  On  the  other  hand,  long 
continued,  routine  work,  performed  under  unfavorable  con- 
ditions, is  deadening,  and  inevitably  causes  physical,  mental, 
and  moral  weakness. 

The  chores  of  the  typical  farmer  boy  of  a  generation  or  two 
ago,  if  not  multiplied  too  freely,  were  excellent  for  the  pur- 
pose of  training  and  developing  the  youth.  Work  at  home, 
before  the  day  when  the  factory  took  almost  all  forms  of  in- 
dustry out  of  the  household,  was  not  an  unmixed  evil  for  the 
child;  but  a  long  working  day  filled  with  routine  work  in  a 

379 


380    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

factory  or  a  sweat-shop  environment  robs  the  child  of  child- 
hood, retards  the  progress  of  the  nation,  reduces  the  vigor  of 
the  race,  and  endangers  the  maintenance  of  a  high  standard 
of  living  among  adult  wage  earners.  The  advocates  of  the 
prohibition  of  child  labor  do  not  believe  that  idleness  and 
irresponsibility  are  necessary  or  desirable  for  the  normal  de- 
velopment of  children.  They  do  assert  that  long  continued, 
specialized  labor  is  extremely  deleterious  to  the  child  until 
after  the  period  of  adolescence  is  past.  The  child  should  be 
taught  to  use  hand  and  eye  in  useful,  regular,  and  constructive 
work.  Prohibition  of  child  labor  in  factories,  stores,  and  mines 
ought  to  be  coupled  with  compulsory  manual  or  industrial 
training  in  the  public  schools.  The  loss  of  opportunities  for 
industrial  training  in  the  home  and  the  complication  of 
industrial  processes  push  into  the  foreground  the  problems 
connected  with  industrial  and  trade  education,  and  with 
apprenticeship.  The  solution  of  these  problems  is  of  vital 
importance  to  organized  labor  and  to  the  nation.  The  mere 
passage  and  adequate  enforcement  of  laws  prohibiting  child 
labor  in  workshops,  stores,  and  mines  is  not  sufficient. 

Child  Labor  Before  the  Civil  War.  With  the  rise  of  the 
middle  class  in  England,  headed  by  the  Tudors,  and  with 
the  breaking  of  the  old  feudal  fetters  was  developed  the  idea 
that  idleness  was  a  sin  of  the  darkest  hue.  The  Tudors  were 
ever  crying  at  the  English  laborer:  "Ye  are  idle,  ye  are 
idle,  go,  therefore,  now  and  work."  The  Puritan  with  his 
convictions  tinged  by  religious  ardor  held  firmly  and  fanati- 
cally to  the  view  of  the  Tudors.  According  to  the  Puritan, 
the  man,  woman,  or  child  who  was  idle  stood  in  slippery 
places.  In  studying  the  facts  in  regard  to  woman  and  child 
labor  during  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century,  the  effect 
of  this  inherited  puritanical  idea  must  never  be  lost  sight 
of.  A  century  ago,  to  give  a  child  work  in  a  factory  was 
considered  to  be  just,  proper,  and  philanthropic.  Today, 


CHILD  LABOR  381 

philanthropists 'and  reformers  are  anxious  to  keep  the  child 
out  of  the  factory,  store,  and  mine,  and  to  give  him  a  reason- 
able opportunity  to  play. 

Before  the  factory  era  children  were  employed  in  many 
kinds  of  household  industry,  and  served  as  apprentices  in 
certain  skilled  trades.  The  growth  of  factories  called  them 
outside  the  home,  massed  them  together  in  considerable 
numbers,  introduced  greater  regularity  and  specialization  into 
their  occupations,  and  gave  more  publicity  to  the  evils  of 
excessive  child  labor  than  was  the  case  under  the  older  form 
of  household  industry.  When  the  factory  system  was  in  its 
infancy,  one  argument  frequently  used  in  favor  of  the  intro- 
duction of  factories  was  that  the  factory  could  utilize  the 
labor  of  women  and  children  who  were  idle.  The  old  puri- 
tanical idea  that  idleness  was  a  sin  and  a  waste,  was  effec- 
tively used  to  break  down  opposition  to  the  factory  system 
and  to  obtain  favorable  legislation.  Alexander  Hamilton  and 
other  early  protectionists  declared  that  the  factory  would 
enable  the  manufacturer  to  employ  child  and  woman  workers 
in  a  more  systematic  and  profitable  manner  than  they  could 
be  employed  under  the  old  system.  As  a  consequence,  in- 
creased production  in  the  factories  would  not  necessitate  the 
withdrawal  of  the  efficient  adult  male  workers  from  agricul- 
ture, shipping,  fishing,  or  the  skilled  trades,  The  introduc- 
tion of  manufacture  would,  it  was  solemnly  argued,  "give 
employment  to  a  great  number  of  persons,  especially  females, 
who  now  eat  the  bread  of  idleness."  Writers  calmly  esti- 
mated the  additional  product  which  might  accrue  to  a  given 
town  or  state  if  all  the  children  were  employed  in  gainful 
occupations.  The  children,  they  asserted,  could  obtain  their 
schooling  in  night  schools.  A  writer  in  Niks'  Register,1  a 
prominent  weekly  newspaper  of  the  first  half  of  last  century, 
made  a  cold-blooded  calculation  as  to  the  additional  amount 

1  October  5,  1816.     Vol.  n  :  86. 


382    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

of  wealth  which  might  accrue  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States  if  all  the  children,  not  then  employed,  could  be  placed 
m  mills  and  factories.  It  was  urged  that  such  a  step  would 
be  a  benefit,  not  only  to  manufacture,  but  to  commerce  and 
agriculture  as  well.  This  enthusiastic  calculator  figured  that 
two  hundred  children  from  seven  to  sixteen  years  of  age 
ought  to  earn  $13,500  per  year.  Their  clothing  was  esti- 
mated to  cost  $5,000;  $8,500  would  be  left  for  boarding  and 
educating  the  children.  By  placing  them  in  factories,  chil- 
dren could  entirely  pay  for  their  maintenance,  and  thus  one 
source  of  national  waste  would  be  dried  up.  The  factory  was 
a  strange  phenomenon.  The  men  of  the  period  did  not  and 
could  not  see  the  dangers  involved  in  child  labor  in  the  mills; 
they  had  been  taught  to  see  the  sinful  side  of  leisure,  and  they 
clearly  saw  the  opportunity  to  augment  profits  through  the 
employment  of  children.  Soon,  however,  the  evils  of  unre- 
stricted child  labor  in  mills  and  factories  became  quite  ap- 
parent, and  agitation  for  legal  restriction  began.  The  wage 
earners  and  the  humanitarian  leaders  were  interested  in  the 
propaganda  against  child  labor. 

The  factory  system  originated  in  England,  and  in  that 
country  the  treatment  of  woman  and  child  wage  earners  was 
perhaps  worse  than  in  this  country.  It  is  unnecessary  to 
relate  the  oft-repeated  story  of  the  treatment  of  the  "pauper 
apprentices"  in  the  cotton  mills  of  England.  The  wrongs  of 
the  slave  pale  when  placed  in  contrast  with  the  treatment  of 
the  child  worker  in  Christian  England  of  the  first  half  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  While  England  was  enthusiastic  over 
the  emancipation  of  the  Negro  in  the  West  Indies,  her  factory 
owners  were  filling  their  pockets  with  gold  wrung  from  the 
vitality  of  thousands  of  young  white  children  held  in  a 
bondage  as  pitiless  as  that  of  the  far-away  plantation  owner. 
For  several  reasons  the  situation  in  this  country  never  became 
as  acute  as  in  England.  The  factory  did  not  appear  in  this 


CHILD  LABOR  383 

country  until  after  England  had  made  some  attempts  at 
factory  regulation.  The  presence  of  large  areas  of  fertile  and 
undeveloped  farm  land  in  the  West  and  the  absence  of  a  large 
number  of  pauper  children  were  also  ameliorating  factors. 

Certain  writers  have  apparently  assumed  that  children  were 
rarely  employed  in  factories  prior  to  1860;  but  the  early 
textile  factories  were  operated  chiefly  by  women  and  children. 
While  it  is  true  that  the  total  number  of  children  employed  in 
gainful  occupations  is  larger  in  recent  decades  than  in  the 
second  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century,  it  is  also  undoubt- 
edly true  that  the  relative  number  thus  engaged  has  not 
materially  increased  and  has  probably  decreased.  Accurate 
statistics  are,  of  course,  not  available,  but  a  study  of  contem- 
porary books,  pamphlets,  reports,  and  newspapers  leaves  little 
doubt  as  to  the  accuracy  of  the  conclusion  just  drawn.  In 
1820  over  5,000  pupils  were  reported  to  be  on  the  rolls  of  the 
public  schools  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia.  With  the  return  of 
prosperous  times  the  demand  for  child  workers  increased  and 
the  school  attendance  correspondingly  diminished.  In  1821 
less  than  3,000  children  were  in  the  schools.  "In  1822  the 
attendance  was  450  less  than  in  1821,  and  in  1823,  it  was  less 
than  half  what  it  had  been  in  1820." l  In  1832  Seth  Luther, 
a  spokesman  of  the  workingmen,  in  his  pamphlet  "The 
Education  of  Workingmen"  called  attention  to  the  evils  of 
child  labor  in  England.  In  1825  a  committee  of  the  state 
legislature  of  Massachusetts  investigated  child  labor  in  the 
factories  of  incorporated  manufacturing  companies.  Over 
nine  hundred  children  under  sixteen  years  of  age  were  re- 
ported as  employed  in  these  establishments.  The  average 
length  of  the  working  day  was  twelve  or  thirteen  hours.  No 
investigation  was  made  of  child  employment  in  unincorpo- 
rated establishments.  One  sentence  from  this  report  is 
indicative  of  public  opinion  in  1825.  "Regard  is  paid  to  the 
1  McMaster,  History  of  the  American  People.  Vol.  5  :  360. 


384    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

instruction  of  these  juvenile  laborers  as  opportunity  permits, 
but  some  further  legislative  provisions  may  hereafter  become 
necessary,  that  the  children  .who  are  at  a  future  day  to  become 
proprietors  of  these  establishments,  or  at  least  greatly  to 
influence  their  affairs,  may  not  be  subjected  to  too  great  de- 
votion to  pecuniary  interest  at  the  risk  of  more  than  an  equiv- 
alent injury  in  the  neglect  of  intellectual  improvement."  l 

In  1828  a  correspondent  of  the  National  Intelligencer,  a 
prominent  newspaper  of  the  time,  estimated  that  all  the 
machinery  in  the  country  required  about  forty^thousand_per- 
sons,  "principally  women  and  children."  The  following 
statistics  of  a  cotton  mill,  owned  by  the  Union  Manufacturing 
Company  of  Maryland,  were  taken  from  a  newspaper  dated 
December  10,  182^  This  mill  had  four  thousand  spindles 
and  fifty  power-looms.  The  number  of  employees  was  184, 
of  which  number  ;r2Q_were  "girls,"  and  58  boys,  between  the 
ages  of  seven  and  nineteen  years.  Only  six  men  were  em- 
ployed. "The  girls  and  boys  live  with  their  parents  on  the 
ground,  where  there  is  now  a  population  exceeding  six  hun- 
dred people,  living  in  the  dwellings  in  the  factory  village,  for 
which  they  pay  rent.  There  is  a  school-house  under  good 
supervision,  which  is  also  used  as  a  house  of  worship,  is  well 
attended  to  by  ministers  of  various  denominations,  and  where 
all  employed  by  the  company  have  free  access.  .  .  .  An 
extensive  store  is  kept  by  the  company,  affording  every 
article  of  provision  and  clothing  sufficient  for  those  employed 
in  the  neighborhood  for  many  miles  around."  The  prob- 
lems connected  with  child  labor,  night  schools,  the  company 
store,  and  tenements  were  all  involved  in  this  factory  of 
ninety  years  ago.  The  relations  existing  between  this  com- 
pany and  its  employees  must  have  been  similar  to  those 
found  in  Pullman,  in  the  copper  country  of  northern  Michi- 
gan, and  elsewhere.  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  first 
1  Documentary  History  of  American  Industrial  Society.  Vol.  5  :  59. 


CHILD  LABOR  385 

factory  industries  to  develop  were  those  which  did  not  require 
considerable  muscular  development  on  the  part  of  the 
workers;  lightness  of  touch  and  rapidity  of  movement  were 
demanded.  The  textile  industries  were  particularly  well 
adapted  to  the  employment  of  women  and  children.  With 
the  growth  of  the  iron  and  steel  mills,  little  increased 
demand  for  women  and  child  workers  was  manifested. 

Child  Labor  during  Recent  Decades.  Prior  to  1870.  no 
adequate  statistics  in  regard  to  child  labor  in  the  United 
States  are  available.  The  census  of  1870  reported  that 
739,164  children  between  the  ages  of  ten  and  fifteen  years 
mcluifve  were  engaged  in  gainful  occupations.  Of  this  num- 
ber  iyj22£  were  employed  in  manufacturing  establishments. 
During  the  succeeding  decade  the  number  of  child  laborers 
increased  with  alarming  rapidity.  In  1880,  i,n8,53^child 
wage  earners  were  reported  in  all  occupations.  The  census 
figures  for  1890  are  not  strictly  comparable  with  those  of 
other  census  reports  because  a  different  classification  was 
adopted.  In  i<)oo,_ijj  $0,138.  breadwinners,  ten  to  fifteen 
years  of  age,  were  reported.  Of  the  total,  1,264,411  were 
males  and  485^767  were  females.  The  census  returns  made 
no  enumeration  of  child  workers  under  ten  years  of  age. 
This  number  was  not  large,  however,  as  only  8.1  per  cent, 
of  the  total  were  ten  years  of  age.  Of  the^total  in  all 
occupations,  1,061,971  or  60.2  per  cent,  were  engaged  in 
"agricultural  pursuits,"  and  688,207  or  39.8  per  cent,  were 
"in  all  other  occupations."  The  census  figures  have  been 
called  "notoriously  inadequate."  A  Maryland  law  of  1906 
required  all  children  under  sixteen  years  of  age  to  obtain 
working  permits  if  they  desired  to  become  wage  earners. 
Over  twice  as  many  applied  for  such  permits  as  were  re- 
ported by  the  census  of  igoo.1  At  the  first  of  the  year  1903 
it  was  estimated  that  20,000  children  under  the  age  of  twelve 
1  Beveridge,  Speech  in  the  Senate,  January,  1907. 


386    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

years  were  working  in  the  factories  of  the  South.  The  Com- 
missioners of  Labor  found  9,665  child  workers  in  the  cotton 
mills  of  six  Southern  states  in  the  year  1908.  The  distri- 
bution of  child  laborers  according  to  ages  was  in  1900: 

Age  Number  Per  Cent.  Per  Cent. 

IS  552,854  31-6] 

14  406,701  23.2 

13  268,427 


15.3  j 
12.6  J 


27.9 
12  221,313  12. 6J 

II  158,778  9.1 1 

10         142,105          8.1  J 

Over  one-half  of  the  child  laborers  ten  to  fifteen  years  of  age 
were  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  of  age.  In  the  manufacturing 
industries  5.6  per  cent,  of  the  total  number  of  employees  in 
1870  were  children;  6.7  per  cent,  in  1880;  and  3.2  per  cent, 
in  1900. 

The  conditions  under  which  wage-earning  children  perform 
their  duties  vary  greatly  with  different  industries.  Many 
dark,  but  truthful,  pictures  may  be  painted  of  the  child 
laborer  in  mines,  mills,  canneries,  and  stores.  The  glass  bot- 
tle industry  has  been  well  named  a  "boy-destroying  indus- 
try." Boys  are  required  to  carry  loads  of  bottles  in  a  heated 
atmosphere  and  at  a  rapid  pace.  "The  speed  required  and 
the  heated  atmosphere  render  continuous  trotting  most 
exhausting."  The  boys  are  "stunted,  illiterate,  profane,  and 
obscene,  —  wrecked  in  body  and  in  mind  before  entering 
upon  the  long  adolescence  known  to  happier  children."1 
The  work  of  the  boys  employed  in  the  coal  breakers  of  Penn- 
sylvania is  hard  and  unhealthful.  The  cramped  position 
leads  to  physical  deformity.  "  Clouds  of  dust  fill  the  breakers 
and  are  inhaled  by  the  boys,  laying  the  foundation  for  asthma 
and  miners' consumption." 2  Work  in  the  canneries  is  often 

1  Kelley,  Charities,  July  4,  1903.     See  also  Report  on  Condition  of  Women 
and  Child  Wage-Earners  in  the  United  States.     Vol.  3:  108-109. 

2  Spargo,  The  Bitter  Cry  of  the  Children,  p.  164. 


CHILD  LABOR  387 

performed  under  conditions  which  are  inimical  to  the  health 
and  morals  of  children.  The  bean  season,  for  example,  lasts 
about  six  weeks.  The  work  of  entire  families  is  frequently 
utilized.  The  families  live  in  shacks.  The  children's  little 
fingers  are  particularly  dexterous  in  bean  stringing.  They 
sit  close  to  mother  or  sister,  working  for  hours  at  intense 
speed.  Occasionally,  "they  may  be  released  to  take  a  box  of 
beans  to  the  weigher,  carrying  for  several  hundred  feet  weights 
too  heavy  for  their  tender  years."1  Mr.  Lovejoy,  after  a 
study  of  the  night  messenger  service,  declares  that  it  is  "a 
menace  to  moral  character,"  an  "obstacle  to  physical  devel- 
opment," and  a  barrier  to  future  industrial  efficiency.2  These 
pictures  —  they  are  only  a  few  selected  from  a  multitude  — 
may  represent  only. the  more  dangerous  and  deteriorating 
forms  of  child  labor;  but  that  children  in  the  United  States  are 
actually  thus  working  day  after  day  is  a  severe  indictment  of 
American  civilization. 

Early  Legislation  in  England.  During  the  last  years  of  the 
eighteenth  and  the  opening  years  of  the  nineteenth  century 
the  distinctive  evils  which  are  now  recognized  as  inseparably 
connected  with  child  labor  in  factory,  mine,  or  store  appeared. 
"The  beginning  of  the  present  [nineteenth]  century  found 
children  of  five,  and  even  of  three  years  of  age,  in  England, 
working  in  factories  and  brickyards;  women  working  under- 
ground in  mines,  harnessed  with  mules  to  carts,  drawing 
heavy  loads;  found  the  hours  of  labor  whatever  the  avarice  of 
individual  mill-owners  might  exact,  were  it  thirteen,  or  four- 
teen, or  fifteen;  found  no  guards  about  machinery  to  protect 
life  and  limb;  found  the  air  of  the  factory  fouler  than  language 
can  describe,  even  could  human  ears  bear  to  hear  the  story."3 

1  Goldmark,  Annals  of  American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Science. 
March,  1910. 

*  Lovejoy,  The  Survey.    May  21,  1909. 
3  Walker,  Political  Economy,  p.  381. 


388    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

Pauper  children  were  " farmed  out"  to  factory  owners. 
Frightful  accounts  are  given  of  the  day  and  night  work  of 
children,  and  of  the  relay  system  in  factory  and  boarding 
house,  —  one  gang  worked  while  another  slept ;  thus  the 
beds  in  the  boarding  house  were  kept  occupied  practically 
all  the  time. 

These  evil  conditions  soon  attracted  public  attention. 
Through  the  exertions  of  Sir  Robert  Peel  and  other  humani- 
tarian leaders  of  the  period  me  nrsT;^Md  labor  law  was  passed 
in  1802.  The  title  gives  evidence  of  the  limitations  of  the 
act,  — "  Health  and  Morals  Act  to  regulate  the  Labor  of 
Bound  Children  In  Cotton  Factories."  It  was  a  crude  piece 
of  legislation  which  only  attempted  to  regulate  the^mplpy- 
ment  of  pauper  apprentices.  The  employer  was  required  to 
clothe  his  apprentices  properly;  and  the  hours  of  labor  law- 
fully required  of  the  apprentice  were  limited  to  twelve  per 
day.  No  child  under  nine  years  of  age  could  legally  become 
a  "bound  child."  Night  work  was  prohibited,  and  the  pro- 
visions of  the  law  required  daily  instruction  of  the  apprentice. 
The  walls  of  factories  were  to  be  whitewashed,  and  the  rooms 
adequately  ventilated.  This  act  is  important  because  it  was 
the  first  act  of  its  kind.  It  was  practically  inoperative;  but 
it 'established  the  principle  of  parliamentary  interference  in 
behalf  of  working  children.  As  the  factory  system  developed 
and  towns  sprang  up  around  the  factories,  the  need  of  pauper 
apprentices  was  reduced.  The  children  of  residents  could 
readily  be  obtained.  In  1815  a  committee  was  appointed 
by  Parliament  to  investigate  the  conditions  of  working  chil- 
dren. The  testimony  given  before  this  committee  disclosed 
the  fact  that  very  young  children,  some  not  over  six  years  of 
age,  were  employed  in  factories;  and  that  the  length  of  their 
working  day  was  twelve  hours  or  more.  As  a  result  of  this 
investigation  the  "second  factory  act"  was  passed  in  1819. 
This  act  also  only  applied  to  cotton  factories;  but  protection 


CHILD  LABOR  389 

was  extended  to  children  who  were  not  "pauper  apprentices." 
The  act  prohibited  the  employment  of  children  under  nine 
years  of  age,  and  limited  the  working  day  for  all  children 
between  the  ages  of  nine  and  sixteen  years  to  twelve  hours. 
Night  work  was  prohibited.  Other  acts  of  minor  importance 
were  passed  from  time  to  time.  In  1833,  after  another 
investigating  committee  had  reported  that  conditions  were 
still  deplorable,  a  more  adequate  statute  was  enacted.  This 
law  of  1833  applied  to  all  textile__miUs.  Children  between 
the  ages  of  nine  and  thirteen  years  were  permitted  to  work 
only  eight  hours  daily;  and  children  between  the  ages  of 
thirteen  and  eighteen,  twelve  hours  daily.  The  prohibition  of 
night  work  was  continued.  A  certain  number  of  holidays  and 
half -holidays  were  granted;  and  a  physician's  certificate  of 
fitness  for  labor  was  required.  The  earlier  laws  had  not 
provided  fur  adequate  inspection  and  means  of  enforcing  their 
provisions.  The  most  important  innovation  in  the  act  of 
1833  was  the  provision  for  salaried  inspectors.  The  inspec- 
tors were  granted  power  to  make  rules  for  the  execution  of 
the  law,  and  were  required  to  prosecute  violations  of  its  pro- 
visions. In  1842  the  employment  of  women  and  of  children 
under  ten  years  of  age  in  underground  mines  was  prohibited. 
Two  years  later  the  "  Children^  Half -Time.  Act"  was  passed. 
The  labor  of  children  under  thirteen  years  of  age  was  restricted 
to  half-time.  The  remaining  half  of  the  working  day  was  to 
be  spent  in  school.  In  1848  all  women  and  all  children  under 
eighteen  years  of  age  were  restricted  to  a  working  day  of 
ten  hours.  By  the  middle  of  the  century  the  right  of  Parlia- 
ment to  pass  what  are  known  as  "factory  acts"  was  definitely 
established. 

Legislation  in  the  United  States.  In  1836  Massachusetts 
enacted  legislation  regulating  the  instruction  of  children 
employed  in  manufacturing  establishments.  In  1842  the 
working  day  for  children  under  twelve  years  of  age  was 


3QO    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

limited  to  ten  hours.  Ohio  enacted  her  first  child  labor  law 
in  1852,  Illinois  and  Wisconsin  in  1877,  and  Michigan  in  1885. 
These^early  laws  fixed  the_age_limit  under  which  no  child 
could  be  employed,  prescribed  the  maximum  number  of  work- 
ing hours  per  day  or  per  week  for  those  who  might  be  em- 
ployed, and  prohibited  the  employment  of  children  in  certain 
dangerous  or  unhealthful  occupations.  Penalties  were  pro- 
vided for  violations;  but  the  acts  were,  as  a  rule,  somewhat 
indefinite  and  the  provisions  for  enforcement  inadequate. 
The  real  precursors  of  adequate  child  labor  legislation  were 
the  two  Massachusetts  acts  of  j[866  ajid  i8££.-  The  employ- 
ment of  children  under  ten  years  of  age  in  manufacturing 
establishments  was  forbidden.  Three  months  schooling  each 
year  was  required  in  the  case  of  wage-earning  children  ten 
to  fifteen  years  of  age.  No  child  under  fifteen  years  could 
lawfully  be  employed  in  any  manufacturing  establishment 
for  more  than  sixty  hours  per  week.  Provision  was  made 
for  inspection,  and  annual  reports  were  to  be  made  by  the 
inspecting  officer  to  the  governor.  Penalties  were  provided 
for  the  violation  of  the  act. 

In  1910  the  district  of  Columbia,  the  territory  of  Arizona, 
and  every  state  except  Nevada,  had  laws  relating  to  child 
labor  upon  their  statute  books.  There  are  practically  as  many 
different  laws  as  there  are  different  states.  States  like  Massa- 
chusetts, New  York,  and  Ohio  have  elaborate  statutes,  while 
several  of  the  Southern  states  have  inadequate  laws  which 
are  often  poorly  enforced.  The  most  important  regulative 
measures  in  regard  to  the  employment  of  children  are  the 
establishment  of  an  age  limit  below  which  children  may  not 
lawfully  be  employed,  limitation  of  the  number  of  working 
hours  per  day  or  per  week,  prohibition  of  night  work,  issuance 
of  working  papers,  compulsory  education,  and  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  law.  The  minimum  age  of  lawful  employment 
varies,  with  some  exceptions,  from  twelve  to  fourteen  years. 


CHILD  LABOR  391 

The  majority  of  the  states  have  fixed  upon  fourteen  years  as 
the  minimum  age  in  the  ordinary  factory  and  mercantile 
industries.  Each  state  usually  classifies  employments  and 
fixes  more  than  one  minimum  age.  Several  states  fixing 
fourteen  years  as  the  minimum  in  ordinary  industries  require 
each  wage  earner  between  fourteen  and  sixteen  years  of  age 
to  obtain  a  working  paper  or  certificate  certifying  that  the 
child  has  completed  a  required  amount  of  school  work.  The 
laws  of  Michigan  furnish  a  typical  example  of  the  complexity 
of  legislation  in  regard  to  the  age  limit.  The  age  limit  in 
factories,  stores,  mines,  offices,  hotels,  laundries,  bowling 
alleys,  freight  and  passenger  elevators,  theaters,  and  the 
messenger  service  is  fourteenyeajs;  but  children  between 
fourteen  and  sixteen  must  obtain  working  papers  certifying 
to  an  elementary  knowledge  of  the  common  branches  taught 
in  the  grade  schools.  In  breweries,  bottling  establishments, 
and  in  occupations  dangerous  to  life,  limb,  health,  or  morals, 
the  minimum  limit  is  twenty-one  for  females  and  eighteen 
for  males.  Alabama,  California,  District  of  Columbia,  Mary- 
land, Mississippi,  New  Hampshire,  North  Carolina,  South 
Carolina,  and  West  Virginia  constitute  the  roll  of  the 
states  which  only  prohibit  children  under  twelve  years  of  age 
from  working  in  ordinary  employments.  Georgia  allows  the 
ten-year  old  children  of  widowed  mothers,  and  orphans  to 
work  in  factories,  —  thus  shouldering  a  social  burden  upon 
children  of  tender  years.  Utah's  age  limit  applies  to  work 
in  mines  only.  Several  states  place  the  age  limit  higher  in 
mines  than  in  factories.  Missouri,  for  example,  fixes  eighteen 
years  as  the  minimum  in  mines.  In  the  regulation  of  the 
length  of  the  working  day  and  the  prohibition  of  night  work, 
Ohio  and  Oklahoma  have  taken  the  lead.  Both  limit  the 
number  of  working  hours  for  girls  under  eighteen  and  boys 
under  sixteen  to  eight  JlQlirs  per  day  and  forty-eight  hours 
per  week,  "in  all  gainful  occupations."  The  work  of  children 


392    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

is  prohibited  between  the  hours  of  6  P.M.  and  7  A.M.  The 
laws  of  Illinois  fix  eight  hours  as  the  maximum  number  per 
day  in  all  gainful  occupations  for  children,  and  prohibit  work 
between  7  P.M.  and  7  A.M.  Colorado  prescribes  an  eight-hour 
day  for  all  children  under  sixteen  years  in  mines,  factories, 
and  stores ;  but  the  difficulty  of  enforcing  the  law  is  increased 
because  night  work  is  not  prohibited.1  In  Ohio  and  Oklahoma 
the  eight  hours  of  lawful  daily  employment  must  be  com- 
pressed within  a  period  of  eleven  consecutive  hours.  An 
inspector  finding  a  child  working  before  7  A.M.  or  after  6  P.M. 
has  prima  facie  evidence  of  a  violation  of  the  law.  Another 
desirable  provision  which  is  inserted  in  the  laws  of  several 
states  requires  the  employer  to  post,  in  a  conspicuous  place 
in  every  room  where  children  are  employed,  a  printed  notice 
stating  the  length  of  their  working  day,  the  hours  of  com- 
mencing and  stopping  work,  and  the  period  allowed  for  meals. 
Arizona,  Florida,  Missouri,  Montana,  Nebraska,  Nevada, 
New  Mexico,  Utah,  West  Virginia,  and  Wyoming  have  passed 
(1910)  no  legislation  limiting  the  hours  of  work  or  prohibiting 
the  night  work  of  children.  North  Carolina  makes  sixty-six 
hours  per  week  the  maximum  for  children  under  eighteen 
years  of  age  working  in  factories.  New  York  forbids  the 
employment  of  persons  under  twenty-one  years  of  age  in  the 
messenger  service  between  the  hours  of  10  P.M.  and  5  A.M. 
This  is  the  most  stringent  law  relating  to  this  objectionable 
kind  of  labor.  Ohio  and  Michigan  have  similar  laws.  The 
age  limit  is  eighteen,  and  the  hours  in  Ohio  9  P.M.  to  6  A.M. 
Several  states  make  exceptions  to  the  limitation  of  the  num- 
ber of  hours  and  the  prohibition  of  night  work  for  a  short 
period  preceding  Christmas,  or  in  certain  establishments  such 
as  canneries,  or  in  the  case  of  repair  work. 

Unless  some  proof  of  age  is  required  of  children  mani- 
festly near  the  age  limit,  no  child  labor  law  is  enforceable. 

1  In  1911  Indiana  passed  an  eight-hour  law. 


CHILD  LABOR  393 

The  Michigan  law  in  regard  to  the  issuance  of  working  papers 
is  one  of  the  best.  Children  between  the  ages  of  fourteen 
and  sixteen  years  may  not  lawfully  be  employed  without  the 
issuance  of  such  papers.  The  permit  to  work  shall  be  issued 
by  the  school  authorities.  It  must  contain  the  name, 
age,  place  of  birth,  and  a  description  of  the  child.  The 
permit  shall  not  be  issued  (i)  until  the  issuing  officer  has 
examined  the  school  report  of  the  child,  which  must  indicate 
that  the  child  is  able  to  read,  write,  and  perform  simple  oper- 
ations in  arithmetic,  (2)  until  he  has  also  received  and  exam- 
ined a  passport  or  some  duly  attested  transcript  of  the  record 
of  birth  or,  in  the  absence  of  such  proof,  the  affidavit  of  the 
parent  accompanied  by  the  certificate  of  the  doctor  or  midwife 
attending  at  the  birth  of  the  child,  and  (3)  until  the  issuing 
officer  is  satisfied  that  the  child  is  in  good  health  and  physi- 
cally able  to  perform  the  work  which  he  intends  to  do,  and 
that  the  services  of  the  child  are  necessary  to  the  support  of 
itself  or  parents.  This  permit  must  be  kept  on  file  by  the 
employer.  In  New  York  the  working  papers  are  issued 
by  the  health  authorities.  The  New  York  law  requires  an 
equivalent  of  eight  years  of  instruction  in  the  public  schools. 
Massachusetts  provides  for  medical  inspection  of  all  children 
between  the  age  of  fourteen  and  sixteen  years.  A  satis- 
factory report  must  be  made  by  the  physician  before  a  permit 
to  work  can  be  granted.  A  Massachusetts  act  of  1910  also 
gives  the  State  Board  of  Health  power  to  determine  whether 
or  not  a  particular  trade  or  process  is  sufficiently  unhealthful 
to  justify  the  exclusion  of  children  under  eighteen  years  of 
age.  These  two  statutes  represent  the  high  water  mark  in 
regard  to  health  regulations  applying  to  working  children. 
In  a  few  states  the  issuance  of  working  papers  is  placed  in 
the  hands  of  the  department  of  labor.  Over  ten  states  still 
adhere  to  the  inadequate  and  vicious  method  of  allowing  a 
notary  public  to  issue  a  working  permit.  The  required  proof 


394    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

is  the  unsupported  affidavit  of  the  parent  or  guardian  of  the 
child.  Eleven  states  require  no  proof  of  age.  Approximately 
two-thirds  of  the  states  require  certain  educational  qualifica- 
tions as  prerequisites  to  the  employment  of  children  under 
sixteen  years  of  age.  One  of  the  most  effective  aids  in  the  en- 
forcement of  child  labor  legislation  is  a  compulsory  education 
law  requiring  the  attendance  for  thirty-six  to  forty  weeks  each 
year  of  all  children  to  the  age  of  fourteen  years,  and  until 
sixteen  if  they  have  not  completed  the  equivalent  of  the  work 
in  the  first  eight  grades  of  the  public  schools.  During  the 
summer  vacation  many  children  are  employed  in  factories. 
"Nothing  could  be  worse  for  the  physique  of  the  school 
child  than  being  compelled  to  work  during  the  summer;  and 
the  development  of  vacation  school  and  vacation  camp  alone 
seems  to  promise  a  satisfactory  solution  of  the  problem  of  the 
vacation  of  the  city  child  of  the  working  class. " 

Child  labor  legislation  which  makes  no  adequate  provision 
for  inspection  is  practically  inoperative.  In  the  majority 
of  states  the  burden  of  inspection  and  of  enforcement  of  the 
law  is  placed  upon  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  and  a  corps  of 
factory  inspectors.  In  six  states  and  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia these  matters  are  placed  in  the  hands  of  school  officials. 
Arizona,  Arkansas,  Florida,  Georgia,  Nevada,  New  Mexico, 
North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  South  Dakota,  Texas,  Utah 
and  Wyoming  either  provide  for  no  special  officials  for  inspec- 
tion or  have  passed  no  law  relating  to  this  important  matter. 

An  effective  and  adequate  child  labor  law  should  at  least 
include  the  following  provisions:  Labor  should  be  prohibited 
in  all  gainful  occupations  for  all  children  under  fourteen  years 
of  age,  for  all  children  under  sixteen  years  of  age  who  are  not 
at  least  five  jeei  in  height  and  who  do  not  weigh  at  least 
eighty  pounds,  for  all  children  under  sixteen  years  of  age  who 
cannot  read  and  write  the  English  language,  for  all  children 
under  sixteen  years  of  age  between  the  hours  of  5  P.M.  and 


CHILD  LABOR  395 

8  A.M.  or  longer  than  eight  hours  per  day  or  forty-eight  hours 
per  week,  and  for  all  children  in  certain  specified  occupations 
dangerous  to  life,  limb,  health,  or  morals;  the  requirement  of 
the  issuance  of  working  papers  to  all  wage-earning  children 
under  sixteen  years  of  age;  the  officials  charged  with  the  en- 
forcement of  the  law  should  devote  their  entire  time  to  the 
work;  inspection  should  be  thorough  and  frequent;  prompt 
prosecution  for  violations  of  the  law;  annual  reports  should  be 
published.  A  good  compulsory  school  law  should  also  be 
upon  the  statute  books;  and  provisions  should  be  made  for 
industrial  education,  directed  play,  and  vacation  schools. 
Provisions  for  collecting  accurate  vital  statistics,  especially 
of  birth  records,  are  almost  essential  to  the  adequate  enforce- 
ment of  child  labor  legislation.  The  establishment  of  schol- 
arships for  children  of  families  in  poverty  would  be  a  valuable 
auxiliary.  The  community  can  well  afford  to  pay  the  child 
of  a  poor  widow,  or  of  disabled  parents,  to  go  to  school. 

National  Regulation.  An  excellent  child  labor  law  in  one 
state  may  conceivably  act  as  a  check  upon  its  industrial  de- 
velopment. Certain  industries  may  temporarily  suffer  in  com- 
petition with  those  from  other  states  having  lax  or  no  child 
labor  laws  upon  their  statute  books.  The  significance  of  this 
point  has  undoubtedly  been  over-emphasized  by  the  opponents 
of  child  labor  legislation;  but  uniformity  in  labor  legislation 
as  in  regard  to  coinage,  weights  and  measures,  and  bankruptcy 
is  very  desirable.  National  regulation  would  be  one  way  of 
bringing  about  uniformity.  The  other  method  is  the  slow 
process  of  publicity,  education,  and  agitation  in  every  state  in 
the  union;  and  there  is  a  temptation  on  the  part  of  certain 
states  to  maintain  lax  child  labor  laws  as  well  as  lax  corpora- 
tion laws.  A  national  "child  labor  law  virtually  establishes 
a  legal  tender  in  labor;  it  says  that  children  under  a  certain 
age  are  no  longer  to  be  accepted  as  a  tender  in  the  performance 
of  labor,  just  as  a  gold  dollar  of  less  than  25.8  grains  in  weight 


396    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

is  no  longer  legal  tender  in  payment  of  a  debt.  A  uniform 
rule  throughout  the  United  States  makes  it  impossible  for  a 
state  to  profit  by  the  debasement  of  its  population,  just  as 
legal  tender  laws  make  it  impossible  for  a  state  to  profit  by 
the  debasement  of  its  coinage."1  The  prevention  of  the 
"debasement"  of  the  children  of  the  nation  is  an  economic 
measure  of  national  import.  The  passage  of  immigration 
laws  which  sift  out  the  weak  and  defective  will  be  of  little 
value  if  children  are  dwarfed  and  weakened  in  our  factories, 
mines,  and  stores.  The  federal  government  can  stimulate 
industry  by  means  of  protective  tariffs  and  patent  laws,  yet 
it  is  powerless  to  remedy  many  of  the  industrial  evils,  includ- 
ing child  labor,  which  grow  out  of  industrial  progress. 

Germany  and  Switzerland  both  having  governments  of  the 
federal  type,  give  the  national  governments  the  right  to 
legislate  upon  matters  relating  to  the  conditions  of  labor.  The 
demand  that  this  matter  be  left  solely  to  the  states  is  a  sur- 
vival of  the  sectional  jealousy  and  particularism  which  was 
so  prominent  at  the  time  the  federal  constitution  was 
adopted. 

The  federal  constitution  does  not  specifically  give  Congress 
the  power  to  directly  regulate  child  labor.  Three  methods 
have  been  proposed  by  means  of  which  federal  intervention 
may  be  obtained.  The  federal  government  might  be  given 
concurrent  power  with  the  states  in  regard  to  child  labor 
legislation.  Such  an  amendment  would  be  difficult  to  obtain; 
but  it  would  not  be  out  of  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the 
Constitution,  which  placed  the  coinage,  the  postal  system,  and 
interstate  commerce  under  the  control  of  the  federal  gov- 
ernment. In  the  second  place,  it  has  be£n_proposed  to  indi- 
rectly legislate  against  child  labor  through  the  power  which 
Congress  has  over  interstate  commerce.  Senator  Beveridge 

1  Famam,  Proceedings  of  the  Child  Labor  Conference,  Hartford,  Dec.  4,  1908. 
PP-  34-35- 


CHILD  LABOR  397 

was  sponsor  for  a  bill  which  proposed  to  prohibit  the  trans- 
portation by  carriers  of  interstate  commerce  of  the  products 
of  mines  and  factories  employing  child  labor.  Such  a  law 
could  only  effect  the  products  which  are  carried  over  state 
lines;  and  the  practical  difficulties  connected  with  its  enforce- 
ment would  be  many.  The  constitutionality  of  this  law  is 
in  doubt.  The  aim  of  the  bill  was  to  allow  Congress  indi- 
rectly to  regulate  a  matter  over  which  it  has  no  direct  power 
under  the  provisions  of  the  Constitution.  Senator  Beveridge 
argued  that  since  Congress  has  the  power  to  prohibit  the 
transportation  in  interstate  commerce  of  lottery  tickets, 
obscene  literature,  uninspected  cattle,  loose  hay  in  vessels, 
convict-made  goods,  and  gold  and  silver  goods  bearing  the 
mark  "U.S.  assay,"  it  also  has  the  power  to  prohibit  the 
transportation  in  interstate  commerce  of  child-made  goods. 

The  third  proposal  is  to  establish  a  federal  Children's 
Bureau  in  connection  with  the  Department  of  the  Interior. 
A  bill  now  before  Congress  (April,  1911)  provides  for  such 
a  bureau;  it  will  probably  become  a  law  in  the  near  future.1 
"The  said  bureau  shall  investigate  and  report  upon  all  mat- 
ters pertaining  to  the  welfare  of  children  and  child  life,  and 
shall  especially  investigate  the  questions  of  infant  mortality, 
the  birth  rate,  physical  degeneracy,  orphanage,  juvenile  de- 
linquency and  juvenile  courts,  desertion  and  illegitimacy, 
dangerous  occupations,  accidents  and  diseases  of  children  of 
the  working  classes,  employment,  legislation  affecting  chil- 
dren in  the  several  states  and  territories,  and  such  other  facts 
as  have  a  bearing  upon  the  health,  efficiency,  character, 
and  training  of  children.  The  chief  of  said  bureau  shall  from 
time  to  time  publish  the  results  of  these  investigations." 
This  proposed  legislation  gives  the  federal  government  no 
power  to  regulate  the  evil;  but  it  provides  exact  data  and 

1  The  bfll  was  passed  by  the  Senate  in  the  winter  of  1911;  but  did  not 
come  to  a  vote  in  the  House. 


398    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

gives  publicity.  It  has  been  likened  to  "a  searchlight,  which 
shows  up  the  enemy  but  does  not  hit  him;"  nevertheless,  the 
work  of  the  bureau  should  furnish  ammunition  which  will  aid 
the  states  in  "  hitting  the  enemy. "  Such  a  bureau,  if  efficient, 
will  provide  up-to-date  and  trustworthy  information  regard- 
ing the  children  of  the  nation. 

The  National  Child  Labor  Committee.  The  National  Child 
Labor  Committee  was  organized  in  1904  and  incorporated  in 
1907.  Its  purpose  is  "to  investigate  and  report  the  facts 
concerning  child  labor;  to  raiseTthe  standard  of  public  opinion 
and  parental  responsibility  with  respect  to  the  employment 
of  children;  to  assist  in  protecting  children  by  suitable  legis- 
lation against  premature  and  otherwise  injurious  employment, 
and  thus  to  aid  in  securing  for  them  an  opportunity  for  ele- 
mentary education  and  physical  development  sufficient  for 
the  demands  of  citizenship  and  the  requirements  of  industrial 
efficiency."  There  are  over  thirty  affiliated  state  and  local 
committees.  The  committee  is  supported  by  voluntary  sub- 
scriptions. An  annual  meeting  is  held,  and  many  pamphlets 
are  issued  for  distribution. 

Viewpoints.  In  considering  the  good  and  evil  effects  of 
child  labor  in  factories,  mines,  and  other  industries  where  the 
work  of  children  is  subdivided  and  specialized,  several  view- 
points may  be  taken,  (a)  The  child's  viewpoint.  Each  and 
every  child  has  a  right  to  childhood;  each  child  may  rightfully 
demand  opportunity  for  normal  development.  Normal  de- 
velopment requires  the  training  of  the  hand  and  eye;  but  such 
training  is  made  impossible  by  long-continued  routine  work 
in  a  factory  without  proper  opportunity  to  play,  to  receive 
an  education  and  to  have  a  variety  of  experiences.  As  pro- 
gress continues,  the  normal  length  of  childhood  increases. 
Little  children  who  are  wage  earners  in  the  modern  industrial 
world  rarely  become  efficient  adult  workers',  or  develop  nor- 
mally. Employers  sometimes  remark  that  many  foreign 


CHILD  LABOR  399 

children  are  incapable  of  education;  but  the  experience  of 
many  teachers  shows  that  this  statement  is  untrue.  The 
normal  children  of  foreign  parents  are  capable  of  receiving 
an  education  in  our  public  schools.  (b)  The  family' s_we}v- 
point.  It  is  frequently  urged  that  the  poor  family  needs  the 
earnings  of  the  children  of  the  family.  A  frequent  and  spe- 
cious plea  is  that  the  prohibition  of  child  labor  will  increase 
the  hardships  of  many  families.  Here  is  the  fertile  field  of 
the  "special  case."  Many  families  in  which  there  are  small 
children  need  larger  incomes;  but  the  future  of  the  child 
should  not  be  sacrificed.  Society  certainly  should  cope  with 
the  problem  in  some  more  efficient  and  humane  manner. 
The  scholarship  plan,  according  to  which  children  are  paid 
for  attending  school  in  cases  where  additional  income  seems 
essential,  is  a  humane  and  desirable  alternative  for  wage 
earning  in  the  factory.  Mrs.  Oilman  in  vigorous  terms 
declares  that  the  right  of  the  family  is  not  paramount  hi 
comparison  to  the  rights  of  the  child.  "It  is  not  right  to 
set  the  children  to  providing  bread  for  the  family.  It  is  as 
abnormal  a  proposition  as  it  would  be  to  see  a  hen  eat  her 
own  chickens  or  eggs."  If  the  family  is^deggfident,  surely 
the  nation,  not  the  child,  should  bear  the  burden. 

(c)  Moral  Evils  Resulting  from  Child  Labor.  The  child 
thrust  prematurely  into  the  factory,  store,  or  mine  is  dwarfed 
in  his  moral  development.  The  constant  association  with 
adults  and  the  equally  constant  touch  with  the  practical, 
bread-and-butter  side  of  life  tend  to  develop  prematurely  the 
adult  view  of  life.  The  youthful  wage  earner  becomes  a  man 
while,  for  normal  development,  he  should  still  be  a  child. 
The  tendency  in  the  home  of  wage-earning  children  is  toward 
relaxation  of  parental  discipline.  The  child  wage  earner  often 
loses  his  respect  for  parental  authority.  He  feels  that  his  abil- 
ity to  earn  money  places  him  in  a  position  of  independence 
of  parental  guidance.  The  child  worker  in  the  plastic  adoles- 


400    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

cent  period  often  hears  much  foul  language,  and  is  frequently 
brought  into  touch  with  various  immoral  influences.  Fac- 
tory conditions,  are  often  such  that  the  child  worker  is  in 
great  danger  of  moral  contamination.  One  of  the  worst  forms 
of  child  labor  in  this  regard  is  the  messenger  service.  Mrs. 
Florence  Kelley  has  carefully  investigated  the  conditions  in 
this  service.  "There  is  not,  I  believe,"  writes  Mrs.  Kelley, 
"one  messenger  boy  three  months  in  the  service  of  the  West- 
ern Union,  American  District  Telegraph,  Postal,  or  any  gen- 
eral local  telegraph  or  messenger  service,  who  fails  to  learn 
everything  known  to  any  criminal  in  the  community  in  which 

he  lives The  temptations  which  beset  them  are  so 

cruel  and  so  pitiless,  so  shocking,  that  they  can  neither  be 
painted  nor  told."  On  the  other  hand,  the  writer  heard  a 
representative  of  one  of  the  telegraph,  companies  declare  in 
eloquent  terms  before  a  committee  of  the  State  Senate  of 
Michigan  that  such  work  was  almost  ideal  for  boys.  While 
in  the  service  of  his  company  the  boys  were  given  exercise  in 
the  open  air  and  were  kept  from  the  dangers  involved  in 
playing  upon  the  city  streets.  Child  labor  often  leads  to 
gross  immorality.  The  overworked  child  early  forms  the 
habit  of  drinking  intoxicating  liquors.  The  monotony  of  his 
life  leads  him  to  seek  the  forms  of  amusement  which  excite 
and  degrade.  Venereal  diseases  are  often  unusually  prevalent 
among  working  children  in  factory  towns.1 

(d)  The  racial  viewpoint.  The  most  important  products 
of  any  nation  are  its  boys  and  girls.  The  conservation  of 
human  resources  is  of  even  greater  importance  than  is  that 
of  the  conservation  of  the  natural  resources.  National  pro- 
gress and  racial  uplift  require  that  the  individuals  of  the  rising 
generation  be  trained  and  developed  so  as  to  become  worthy 
successors  of  today's  men  and  women  of  action.  The  life, 
health,  vigor,  and  training  of  each  and  every  young  person 

1  Spargo,  The  Bitter  Cry  of  the  Children,  pp.  181-190. 


CHILD  LABOR  401 

is  a  matter  of  great  importance  to  the  nation.  Child  labor 
laws  are  forms  of  social  insurance.  If  children  are  over- 
worked and  underfed,  if  they  are  given  inadequate  oppor- 
tunity for  healthful  play  and  enjoyment,  if  children  are 
forced  to  become  wage  earners  in  early  youth,  the  inevitable 
fruitage  will  be  stunted,  inefficient,  and  apathetic  men  and 
women.  England  is  today  paying  the  penalty  for  grinding  out 
young  lives  in  her  mines  and  factories.  The  warriors  who 
charged  with  the  Light  Brigade,  or  who  stopped  the  hosts 
of  Napoleon  at  Waterloo  have  gone,  and  their  places  cannot 
be  filled  by  the  prematurely  aged  toilers  in  shop  and  mine. 

(e)  The  educational  viewpoint.  A  child  without  a  normal 
childhood  becomes  the  inefficient  or  the  delinquent  adult,  if, 
indeed,  adult  life  is  reached.  The  American  people  are  main- 
taining a  costly  educational  plant  —  buildings,  equipment, 
teachers,  manual  training,  playgrounds;  but  only  about  one 
in  every  eight  children  are  found  in  the  schoolroom  after  their 
fifteenth  birthday.  Are  we  as  a  nation  heartily  in  favor  of 
a  free  school  system  for  all  children?  To  the  candid  student 
of  statistics  of  school  attendance  it  seems  doubtful.  If  the 
American  people  are  desirous  of  giving  the  benefits  of  educa- 
tion to  each  and  every  child,  our  efforts  to  do  so  are  indeed 
feeble.  If  education,  including  as  it  should  play,  physical 
culture,  and  manual  or  industrial  training,  makes  for  good 
citizenship  and  efficient  workmanship,  the  nation  ought  to 
pass  and  enforce  such  laws  as  will  give  to  each  and  every 
child  an  opportunity  to  be  more  than  an  anemic,  half- 
exhausted  piece  of  human  mechanism.  But  coercive  legis- 
lation keeping  the  child  out  of  the  factory  should  be  balanced 
by  increased  emphasis  upon  industrial  training  in  the  public 
schools. 

(/)  The  economic  effect  of  child  labor.  The  introduction 
of  children  into  industry  causes  the  displacement  of  adult 
workers,  increases  the  minuteness  of  the  subdivision  of  labor, 


402    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

and  delays  the  introduction  of  labor  saving  devices.     The 
effect  is  almost  identical  to  that  caused  by  the  immigration 
of  workers  living  on  a  low  standard  of  living.     The  difficulties 
in  both  cases  are  caused  by  the   presence  of  a  supply  oi 
"cheap  labor."     The  supply  of  child  labor  tends  to  reduce 
the  wages  of  adult  workers  in  the  industries  where  children  are 
introduced.     The  earnings  of  the  entire  family  in  industries 
where  men,  women,  and  children  are  employed  are  no  higher 
than  that  of  the  head  of  the  household  in  industries  where 
only  the  men  are  employed.1    The  use  of  child  labor — cheap 
labor  —  enables  certain  parasitic  or  sweated  industries  to  con- 
tinue in  operation;  and  it  enables  certain  families  to  be  self- 
supporting.    The  percentage  of  child  workers  injured  in  factories 
is  higher  than  the  percentage  of  adult  factory  workers  injured. 
The  more  remote  effects  of  child  labor  are  still  more  im- 
portant than  the  immediate  effects  which  were  briefly  con- 
sidered in  the  preceding  paragraph.     From  a  purely  economic 
point  of  view,  casting  aside  all  moral,  ethical,  or  humanitarian 
arguments,  child  labor  is  a  waste  to  the  nation.     A  normal 
youth  eighteen  years  of  age  ought  to  have  forty-five  or  fifty 
years  of  useful  productive  work  ahead  of  him.     Proper  diet, 
proper  housing  facilities,  a  fair  amount  of  recreation,  and 
absence  of  unhealthful  occupation  and  dissipation  will  give 
to    the   average   normal   and  well-developed  youth  such  a 
prospect;  but   premature  child   labor   takes  it   away.     The 
efficiency  and  the  length  of  the  working  life  of  the  average 
child  worker  in  factories,  stores,  and  mines  is  less  than  that 
of  the  average  individual  who  has  not  been  forced  to  become 
a  breadwinner  before  the  age  of  sixteen  or  eighteen  years. 
Not  only  is  the  productive  efficiency  of  the  average  wage 
earner  reduced  because  t)f  the  prevalence  of  child  labor,  but 
the  expense  of  caring  for  dependents,  vagrants,  and  delin- 

1  A  merican  Economic  Association  Publications.  Vol.  5 : 1 70.     See  also  Gunton, 
Wealth  and  Progress,  p.  171. 


CHILD  LABOR  403 

quents  is  increased.  The  national  income  is  diminished 
and  the  national  expenditures  increased.  The  child-employ- 
ing industries  are  parasitic.  They  reduce  the  number  of 
recruits  for  other  industries;  and  they  lower  the  average 
efficiency  of  the  mass  of  workers.  By  lowering  the  efficiency 
and  by  adversely  affecting  the  stamina  of  the  young,  child 
labor  tends  to  reduce  the  future  standard  of  living  of  the 
workers  of  the  nation. 

(g)  Organized  Labor's  Viewpoint.  Organized  labor  is  op- 
posed to  the  use  of  child  labor  because  it  ten4s__to_reduce 
wages  and  to  cause  the  displacement  of  adult  workers. 
While  the  unionist  often  places  the  humanitarian  argument 
in  the  foreground,  the  real  reason  for  the  firm  attitude  of 
organized  labor  is  selfish.  Child  labor  is  a  menace  to  the 
life  and  effectiveness  of  the  labor  union.  The  individual 
workingman  is  often  a  prey  to  conflicting  interests  in  regard 
to  the  early  employment  of  his  own  children;  but  his  union 
almost  invariably  opposes  child  labor.  The  skilled  glass 
bottle  blowers,  however,  employ  boys  to  carry  bottles  from 
the  molder  to  the  annealing  oven;  and  their  union  has  not 
been  active  in  attempting  to  put  an  end  to  this  practice. 
These  wretched  "blowers'  dogs"  are  the  "victims  alike  of  the 
manufacturers  and  the  skilled  workers."  In  this  industry 
the  skilled  workers  are  not  menaced  by  the  child  laborer,  and 
consequently,  child  labor  in  the  glass  industry  is  not  con- 
sidered by  them  to  be  a  serious  evil.  "In  some  factories," 
writes  Mrs.  Florence  Kelley,  "the  blowers  are  required  to 
furnish  boys;  and  as  they  do  not  sacrifice  their  sons  (whom 
they  introduce  into  the  trade  as  apprentices,  if  at  all)  they 
are  continually  searching  for  available  sources  of  supply." 
Evidently,  altruistic  motives  alone  do  not  lead  labor  organ- 
izations to  oppose  child  labor. 

Opposition  to  the  Prohibition  of  Child  Labor.  In  the  face  of 
so  many  obvious  economic,  moral,  and  racial  disadvantages, 


404       HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

the  continued  prevalence  of  child  labor  indicates  the  existence 
of  powerful  forces  favorable  to  its  utilization.  The  disad- 
vantages either  affect  society  as  a  whole  or  are  relatively 
remote  in  incidence.  Child  labor  legislation  is  coercive;  and 
compulsion  must  be  used  to  insure  enforcement.  This  legis- 
lation operates  against  certain  powerful  direct  and  personal 
economic  motives.  The  advantages  to  be  derived  from  child 
labor  seem  immediate  and  personal,  (a)  The  manufacturers 
desire  to  hire_cheap  Jabor.  In  the  long  run  it  may  not  be 
difficult  to  prove  that  "cheap"  labor  is  "dear"  labor,  and 
in  certain  industries  employers  are  refusing  to  hire  children 
under  sixteen  years  of  age  because  of  their  inefficiency  and 
carelessness;  but  in  a  large  number  of  important  industries 
the  opportunity  to  hire  children  at  low  wages  helps  to  swell 
the  dividends  paid  this  year  to  the  anxious  stockholders. 
(b)  Many  parents  are  desirous  of  obtaining  income  from  the 
work  of  their  children.  The  family  may  be  in  want  or  the 
head  of  the  family  may  be  indolent  or  avaricious.  In  either 
case  the  immediate  opportunity  of  increasing  the  family 
income  overbalances  any  fear  of  the  possible  remote  injurious 
effects  of  such  labor  upon  the  child,  (c)  The  child  himself 
is  anxious  to  earn  money.  He  wishes  to  have  money  of  his 
own  to  spend;  and  he  too  often  sees  little  that  is  of  prac- 
tical value  in  the  education  offered  by  the  public  school. 
He  asserts  that  there  is  "nothing  doing"  in  school,  and  he 
craves  for  activity.  The  desire  for  spending  money  today 
bulks  larger  than  any  remote  and  intangible  disadvan- 
tageous .  effect  upon  the  earning  capacity.  Many  backward 
and  stupid  children  leave  school  early  in  life  because  they 
are  ashamed  to  stay  in  a  class  with  children  younger  than 
themselves. 

The  forces  opposing  child  labor  legislation  are  powerful. 
Coercive  legislation  is  always  difficult  of  enforcement.  Scien- 
tific legislation  —  legislation  which  follows  the  route  of  least 


CHILD  LABOR  405 

social  resistance  —  will  work  along  other  lines.  A  law  pro- 
hibiting child  labor  may  be  extremely  desirable;  but  if  the 
income  of  the  family  is  so  meager  that  proper  subsistence 
cannot  be  provided  for  the  members  of  the  family,  that 
family  is  imperiled,  and  the  future  of  the  children  endangered. 
Mere  coercive  legislation  which  restrains  children  from  earn- 
ing wages  is  only  a  palliative;  it  brushes  the  surface.  Indeed, 
sometimes  it  is  a  sedative  which  prevents  further  study  and 
investigation.  Questions  pertaining  to  wages,  employment, 
sanitary  home  and  working  conditions,  educational  facilities, 
private  property,  and  taxation  are  more  fundamental.  The 
prohibition  of  child  labor  in  factories,  stores,  and  mines  is 
only  one  link  in  a  long  chain  of  measures  making  for  social 
betterment.  The  efficiency  of  a  child  labor  law  depends 
upon  the  passage  of  other  laws  and  regulations. 

Free  education  and  free  text-books  reduce  the  direct  ex- 
penses of  attending  school,  and  consequently  many  children 
continue  in  school  who  would  drop  out  if  the  parents  were 
forced  to  pay  for  tuition  and  text-books.  Paying  children  to 
go  to  school  is  the  next  step.  Such  a  measure  would  directly 
attack  the  child  labor  evil.  The  motives  (b)  and  (c)  would 
no  longer  act  effectively  to  draw  children  out  of  the  school- 
room and  into  the  factory.  Such  legislation  will  be  called 
paternalism;  but  the  free  school  system  is  paternalistic. 
Paying  children  to  go  to  school  is  a  form  of  scientific  child 
labor  legislation.  It  removes  or  minimizes  the  force  of  two 
of  the  three  powerful  motives  which  lead  children  to  become 
wage  earners.  Coercive  legislation  would  be  less  necessary 
and  less  difficult  of  enforcement  if  children  were  paid  to 
attend  school. 

The  rudimentary  forms  of  a  system  of  paying  children  to  go 
to  school  may  be  discerned.  The  New  York  Child  Labor 
Committee  devotes  a  portion  of  its  funds  to  the  payment  of 
scholarships.  In  1908  it  expended  approximately  $4,000  for 


406    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

scholarships.  The  Inter-Church  Child  Labor  Committee  of 
Grand  Rapids  has  also  maintained  several  scholarships. 
Under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Ohio,  boards  of  education  may 
furnish  such  aid  as  may  be  necessary  in  poverty  stricken 
homes  in  case  the  children  of  that  home  are  attending  school. 
Acting  under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion of  the  city  of  Toledo  has  granted  what  have  been  called 
"scholarships"  to  certain  children;  or,  in  other  words,  chil- 
dren in  some  destitute  families  have  been  paid  to  attend 
school.  In  Switzerland  children  of  widows  receive  at  the 
end  of  each  successful  week  in  school  a  certain  sum  of  money 
paid  out  of  a  scholarship  fund  maintained  by  the  canton. 
This  payment  is  not  considered  to  be  an  act  of  charity. 

The  improvement  of  our  educational  facilities  will  go  far 
toward  reducing  the  amount  of  child  labor.  More  industrial 
training  and  domestic  science  are  needed  in  the  schools.  The 
removal  of  the  children  from  the  factories  is  merely  negative 
legislation;  improvement  of  the  schools  and  the  introduction 
of  trade  education  are  of  positive  value.  More  attention 
should  be  paid  to  physical  training  and  to  play  and  amuse- 
ments by  our  school  authorities.  An  editor  of  a  daily  paper 
has  put  the  matter  in  a  nutshell:  "It  is  the  essence  of  folly 
and  cruelty  to  pitch  the  children  taken  from  the  factory  and 
workshop  regardless  into  the  dilettante,  fad-oppressed  atmos- 
phere of  the  ordinary  schoolroom.  Save  the  children  from 
slavery,  but  see  where  they  are  put  when  saved.  Look 
well  to  the  schools."  It  sometimes  seems  that  in  order  to 
receive  the  best  of  school  training  a  child  must  be  abnormal, 
-  truant,  delinquent,  or  defective.  A  recent  writer  asserts 
that  the  American  people  are  placing  a  "premium  on  ab- 
normality." 


CHILD  LABOR  407 


REFERENCES  FOR  FURTHER  READING 

"Report  on  Condition  of  Women  and  Child  Wage-Earners  in  the 
United  States,"  in  19  volumes.  Prepared  under  the  direction  of  the 
Commissioner  of  Labor.  Issued  as  Senate  Document  No.  645,  Sixty- 
first  Congress,  second  session. 

"Child  Labor  in  the  United  States,"  Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  the 
Census.  No.  69  (1907). 

The  Proceedings  of  the  Annual  Meetings  of  the  National  Child  Labor 
Committee  appear  annually  in  The  Annals  of  the  American  Academy  of 
Political  and  Social  Science;  and  also  as  reprints  of  the  same.  Important 
sources  of  information. 

Spargo,  The  Bitter  Cry  of  the  Children. 

Beveridge,  Speech  in  the  United  States  Senate,  January  23,  28,  29, 
1907. 

Scott,  "Child  Labor  Laws"  (Summary),  Legislative  Review,  No.  5, 
American  Association  for  Labor  Legislation. 

Goldmark,  "Child  Labor  Legislation,"  Supplement  of  The  Annals 
of  the  American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Science.  May,  1008. 

Proceedings  of  the  Child  Labor  Conference,  Hartford,  December  4,  1908. 

Carlton,  Education  and  Industrial  Evolution,  pp.  294-298. 

Kelley,  Some  Ethical  Gains  through  Legislation,  pp.  3-104. 

Abbott,  "A  Study  of  the  Early  History  of  Child  Labor  in  America," 
American  Journal  of  Sociology.  Vol.  14  :  15-37. 

Commons,  Documentary  History  of  American  Industrial  Society. 
Vol.  5 :  57-66. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

WOMAN  LABOR 

Woman  Labor  Before  the  Civil  War.  It  is  often  stated  and 
quite  generally  believed  that  the  movement  of  women  into 
industry  is  a  new  and  startling  phenomenon.  Woman,  how- 
eVer,  was  the  first  industrial  worker;  the  primitive  man  was  a 
hunter  and  a  fighter.  In  1789  some  French  women  petitioned 
the  king  to  exclude  men  from  the  trades  belonging  to  women, 
"whether  dressmaking,  embroidery,  or  haberdashery.  Let 
them  leave  us,  at  least,  the  needle  and  the  spindle,  and  we 
will  engage  not  to  wield  the  compass  or  the  square."  Miss 
Edith  Abbott,  after  a  painstaking  investigation,  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  women  are  today  relatively  to  men  a  less 
important  factor  in  industrial  life  than  they  were  three- 
quarters  of  a  century  ago.  The  statistics  upon  which  this 
conclusion  was  based  have  been  severely  criticized.  Never- 
theless, it  seems  beyond  controversy  that  the  wives  and 
female  relatives  of  the  head  of  the  family  in  the  wage  earning 
class  were  workers  throughout  the  nineteenth  century.  If 
they  did  not  work  in  household  industry,  they  were  found  in 
the  factories.  The  recent  movement,  which  is  attracting  so 
much  attention,  is  really  a  middle  class  exodus  from  the  home. 
Women  and  children,  as  was  stated  in  the  preceding  chapter, 
constituted  the  bulk  of  the  workers  in  the  first  factories  — 
textile  mills  —  of  the  United  States.  "Women  formed, 
roughly  speaking,  from  two-thirds  to  three-fourths,  and  in 
some  districts  as  high  as  nine-tenths,  of  the  total  number  of 
operatives  in  the  first  half  of  the  century;  but  this  proportion 
has  been  declining  until,  in  the  twentieth  century,  the  men 

408 


WOMAN  LABOR  409 

outnumber  the  women."1  The  preceding  quotation  referred 
to  cotton  factories  only;  in  the  woolen  industry  the  percentage 
of  women  workers  has  undergone  only  a  slight  modification. 
The  largest  percentage  is  less  thanjyity^per  cent.  The  oft- 
quoted  generalization  of  Harriet  Martineau,  that  in  1836  only 
seven  occupations  were  open  to  women,  was  probably  based 
upon  insufficient  data.  In  fact,  in  another  connection,  Miss 
Martineau  mentions  an  additional  industry  in  which  women 
were  engaged. 

The  women  operatives  in  the  early  cotton  mills  were  born 
in  America;  many  of  them  were  the  daughters  of  farmers 
living  in  the  vicinity  of  the  mill  towns.  With  the  influx  of 
immigration  in  the  forties,  the  character  and  nationality 
of  the  women  operatives  rapidly  changed.  The  conditions  in 
the  early  factories  were  frequently  pictured  as  far  superior  to 
those  obtaining  in  a  factory  of  the  present  time.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  the  working  day  was  long,  the  mills  badly  ventilated 
and  poorly  lighted,  and  the  corporation  boarding  houses  were 
overcrowded  and  insanitary.2  A  delegate  to  the  first  con- 
vention of  the  National  Trades'  Union,  held  in  1834,  declared 
the  cotton  factories  to  be  "the  present  abode  of  wretchedness, 
disease,  and  misery. "  The  Committee  on  Female  Labor  made 
a  long  report  to  the  convention  of  ,1836.  This  committee 
stated  that  factory  work  injured  the  health  and  lowered  the 
moral  standards  of  the  female  employee,  and  that  "when 
females  are  found  capable  of  performing  duties  generally 
performed  by  men,  as  a  natural  consequence,  from  the  cheap- 
ness of  their  habits  and  dependent  situation,  they  acquire 
complete  control  of  that  particular  branch  of  labor."  The 
committee  recommended  legislation  prohibiting  women 
"under  a  certain  age"  from  working  in  "large  factories." 

Women  Wage  Earners  and  the  Wages  of  Women.     In  1900 

1  Abbott,  Journal  of  Political  Economy.    Vol.  16:  607. 

2  Abbott,  Journal  of  Political  Economy.    Vol.  16:  680-692.  Vol.  17:  19-35. 


410    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

there  were  28^246,384  women  in  the  United  States  over  ten 
years  of  age;  of  this  total,  5,319,397  or  nearly  19  per  cent,  were 
reported  to  be  gainfully  employed.  The  percentages  for  1890, 
1880, and  iSjoareapproximately  17.4,  14.7,  and  13 respectively. 
The  percentage  of  women  breadwinners,  sixteen  years  of  age 
and  over,  in  all  occupations  was,  in  1900,  16.6  per  cent.;  in 
1880,  13.5  per  cent.  In  agricultural  pursuits,  the  percentages 
were  7.4  and  5.9  respectively;  in  professional  sendee,  34.1  and 
29.3;  in  domestic  and  personal  service,  35.0  and  31.5;  in  trade 
and  transportation,  10.1  and  3.2;  and  in  manuiactuiing  and 
mechanical  pursuits,  16.9  and  15.4.  The  percentage  of  women 
wage  earners  was  higher  in  each  of  the  five  important  groups 
in  1900  than  in  1880.  The  increase  in  trade  and  trans- 
portation was  particularly  marked.  The  schedules  of  the 
Twelfth  Census  enumerate  303  separate  employments. 
Women  workers  were  found  in  all  except  eight  —  soldiers, 
sailors,  marines,  street-car  drivers,  firemen  of  the  municipal 
fire  departments,  apprentices  and  helpers  to  roofers  and 
slaters,  helpers  to  steam  boiler  makers,  helpers  to  brass 
workers. 

The  tendencies  during  the  decade  1890  to  1900  may  be 
summarized  as  follows:1  First,  the  total  number  of  female 
wage  earners  and  the  number  employed  in  each  of  the  five 
large  occupational  groups  increased  more  rapidly  than  the 
total  population,  the  total  male  population,  or  the  total 
female  population.  Secondly,  occupational  groups  into  which 
middle-class  women  enter  show  a  higher  rate  of  increase  than 
those  into  which  "working-class"  women  chiefly  enter.  In 
the  third  place,  of  the  eighteen  occupations  employing  more 
than  one  per  cent,  of  the  total  number  of  women  wage  earners, 
the  declining  occupations  are  "the  traditionally  feminine 
ones,  —  dressmakers,  servants  and  waitresses,  seamstresses 
and  tailoresses."  Only  one  of  these  is  a  declining  occupation 
1  Abbott  and  Breckinridge,  Journal  of  Political  Economy.  Vol.  14:  36. 


WOMAN  LABOR  411 

for  men.  It  will  be  interesting  to  ascertain  whether  the  same 
tendencies  prevailed  during  the  decade,  1900-1910. 
*  At  the  1908  meeting  of  the  Federation  of  Labor,  one  clause 
of  a  resolution  adopted  stated  that  "it  is  a  well  known  fact 
that  the  women  wage  earners  of  this  country  are  forced  to 
labor  under  distressing  and  inhuman  conditions,  working  long 
hours  for  miserably  small  wages,  hardly  sufficient  to  keep 
body  and  soul  together. "  There  is  much  evidence  to  support 
this  startling  contention  of  organized  labor,  at  least  as  to  the 
wages  of  women  workers.  In  1888  the  United  States 
Department^  Labor  undertook  an  investigation  in  order  to 
ascertain  the  wages  paid  women  wage  earners  in  twenty- 
two  large  cities.  The  lowest  average  weekly  wage  was  re- 
ported from  Richmond;^  was  $3.93.  The  highesti__$6.9i, 
was  found  in  San  Francisco.  The  average  weekly  wage  paid 
in  New  York  City  was  $5.85;  hi  Chicago,  $5.75;  in  Boston, 
$5.64;  and  in  Cleveland,  $4.63.  Manifestly,  the  wages  were 
in  many  cases  insufficient  to  provide  the  necessities  of  life. 

The  Pittsburgh  Survey  (1908)  found  the  wages  of  laborers 
employed  in  the  mills  "  so  low  as  to  be  inadequate  to  the  main- 
tenance of  a  normal  American  standard  of  living; "  it  was  also 
ascertained  that  women  received  about  "one-half  as  much  as 
unorganized  men  in  the  same  shops,  and  one-third  as  much 
as  men  in  the  union."  Of  the  22,185  women  wage  earners  of 
Pittsburgh  engaged  in  manufacture  and  mercantile  pursuits, 
one-fifth  earned  $8.00  per  week  or  more,  one-fifth  earned  a 
median  wage  of  $7.00,  and  the  remainder  earned  from  $3.00 
to  $6.00  per  week.  Compare  these  rates  of  wages  with  the 
estimated  weekly  budget  of  the  working  woman,  —  room, 
$1.25;  board,  $3.50;  car-fare,  $0.60;  clothing,  $1.65;  total 
$7.00.  No  allowance  is  made  in  this  budget,  which  is  more 
than  the  weekly  wage  of  over  three-fifths  of  the  working 
women,  for  washing  and  ironing,  sundries,  recreation,  medical 
rare,  and  books  or  magazines.  Indeed,  "the  lines  of  a  seven 


412    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

dollar  budget  are  lines  of  a  barren  life."  Many  of  the 
workers  were  found  to  live  away  from  home,  although  one 
manufacturer  frankly  said,  "We  try  to  employ  girls  who 
are  members  of  families,  for  we  don't  pay  the  girls  a  living 
wage  in  this  trade."  In  the  garment  trade,  it  was  found  that 
38  per  cent,  of  the  women  workers  boarded  away  from  home; 
in  the  printing  trade,  33  f  per  cent.;  in  the  mercantile  houses, 
20  per  cent.;  and  in  the  wholesale  millinery  establishments, 
10  per  cent.  In  the  lowest  grades  of  unskilled  work  in  Pitts- 
burgh, boys  start  at  ten  cents  per  hour,  but  girls  receive  only 
about  one-half  of  that  munificent  wage.  Professor  Commons 
found  the  wages  paid  women  in  the  meat  packing  indus- 
try in  Chicago  to  be  $1.00  to  $1.25  per  day  lower  than  that 
paid  men  for  the  same  work.  During  the  holiday  season  of 
1906  ten  department  stores  in  the  loop  district  of  Chicago 
employed  19,377  women.  Of  this  number  626  were  under 
1 6  years  of  age,  and  18,751  were  above  that  age.  In  one  of 
the  largest  stores  the  minimum  wage  paid  to  experienced 
girl  clerks  was  $6.00  per  week.  In  another  department  store 
the  girls  started  at  $4.50  per  week.  The  regular  hours  of 
work  were  from  8  to  8.30  in  the  morning  to  6  in  the  afternoon, 
with  one-half  or  three-quarters  of  an  hour  for  lunch.  Just 
before  Christmas  the  stores  were  open  until  10  P.M.  The 
minimum  wages  paid  were  insufficient  for  self-support.1  In 
New  York  City,  in  the  winter  of  1907-1908,  of  543  factory 
girls  seeking  employment  only^  21  had  received  over$>io.oo  per 
week  in  their  last  positions;  28  had  received  less  than  $4.00 
per  week;  101,  $4.00  to  $5.00;  150,  $5.00  to  $6.00;  and  in, 
$6.00  to  $7.00  per  week.  The  recent  federal  investigation  of 
the  work  of  women  and  children  found  that  the  average 
weekly  wages  paid  adult  female  workers  (over  sixteen  years 
of  age)  in  the  principal  operations  in  a  cotton  mill  were  $6.49. 
The  average  wage  paid  to  adult  males  was  $7.15  per  week. 

1  Summary  of  Report  in  The  Public,  March  9,  1907. 


WOMAN  LABOR  413 

In  1905  the  number  of  men  reported  to  be  engaged  as  wage 
earners  in  the  manufacturing  establishments  of  the  United 
States  was  approximately  four  times  the  number  of  women; 
but  the  total  amount  of  the  wages  paid  the  men  was  approx- 
imately seven  and  one-half  times  the  amount  paid  to  the 
women.  It  is  unnecessary  to  multiply  statistics.  Women 
wage  earners  receive  lower  wages  than  male  workers  for  the 
same  service,  and  the  wage  received  by  a  large  percentage  of 
the  female  workers  is  less  than  an  adequate  living  wage. 

The  low  and  insufficient  wages  paid  to  women  workers, 
coupled  with  the  long  working  day  and  the  nervous  tension  of 
rapid  work,  lead  to  physical  and  mental  deterioration,  and 
in  too  many  cases  to  unsocial  conduct.  As  long  as  the  wage 
paid  women  workers  is  less  than  an  adequate  living  wage,  a 
constant  and.  potent  force  is  acting  to  produce  unsocial  and 
degrading  conduct.  Low  wages,  the  long  working  day,  and 
the  strenuous  endeavor  are  potent  causes  of  prostitution. 
When  a  careful  investigation  shows  that  "sixty  per  cent,  of 
Pittsburgh's  working  women  are  receiving  wages  below  such 
a  subsistence  level,  and  that  there  is  scarcely  a  minimum  to 
which  women's  wages  may  not  be  depressed,"  a  situation  is 
disclosed  which  is  a  menace  to  the  welfare  and  future  progress 
of  the  American  nation.  "Permanent  industrial  progress 
cannot  be  built  upon  the  physical  exhaustion  of  women," 
nor  can  it  be  built  upon  the  moral  degradation  of  the  young 
working  girl. 

A  large  percentage  of  women  workers  do  not  become  ap- 
prentices or  highly  skilled  workers  because  they  do  not  expect 
to  remain  long  as  industrial  workers;  they  are  not  spurred  on 
by  the  ambitions  which  prod  the  young  man.  Up  to  the 
present  time  women  industrial  workers  are,  as  a  whole,  a 
shifting  body  of  poorly  trained,  underpaid,  and  overworked 
employees.  The  study  of  factory  girls  in  New  York  City 
leads  to  the  conclusion  that  only  about  one-half  of  the 


4H    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

positions  are  held  for  a  longer  period  than  six  months.  This 
"industrial  flux"  is  one  of  the  "conspicuous  hardships"  con- 
fronting the  female  wage  earner. 

The  Pittsburgh  Survey  has  made  it  possible  to  draw  some 
definite  conclusions  as  to  the  competition  between  men  and 
women  workers,  and  in  regard  to  the  present  tendency  toward 
the  displacement  of  men  by  women,  or  women  by  men. 
(j)-The  kinds  of  work  demanding  skill,  strength,  or  training 
have  remained  chiefly  in  the  hands  of  the  male  workers. 
(2)-  Routine  and  monotonous  work  of  a  light  and  simple  char- 
acter, particularly  where  the  material  is  of  an  inferior  quality 
-  the  sort  of  work  that  is  stupefying  —  is  turned  over  to  the 
wornen^  workers.1  Miss  Abbott  has  shown  that  women  do 
not  displace  men  in  the  skilled  trades  any  more  than  men  dis- 
place women.  In  the  unskilled  work,  however,  it  seems  that 
women  do  displace  men  and  will  continue  to  displace  men  in 
many  lines  as  long  as  they  can  be  secured  at  very  low  wages. 
The  casual  workers,  many  of  whom  are  women,  act  as  a  drag 
to  keep  down  the  scale  of  wages  and  the  standard  of  living. 

A  statement  made  by  a  young  girl  —  a  Russian- Jewish 
garment  worker — at  the  time  of  the  garment  workers'  strike 
(1910)  in  Chicago  is  worthy  of  notice.  "Four  or  five  years 
ago  when  I  was  strong  I  could  earn  $13.00  a  week  by  working 
all  the  time,  always  so  fast  as  a  devil,  like  a  machine.  .  .  .  Now 
the  work  is  divided  in  so  small  particles  that  a  pair  of  pants 
goes  through  fifty-one  hands.  The  particles  into  which  it  is 
divided  is  so  small  that  you  could  not  write  them  out.  One 
girl  is  sewing  all  the  time  on  watch  pockets,  another  on  the 
large  pockets,  and  so  on,  —  on  all  those  little  particles.  By 
working  all  the  time  now,  I  can  make  only  $10  a  week."2 

1  Free  use  has  been  made  in  this  section  of  the  Pittsburgh  Survey,  particu- 
larly of  articles  by  Miss  Butler  and  Dr.  Devine  in  Charities  and  The  Commons, 
March  6,  1909,  and  of  an   investigation   in   New  York  City  made  by  Miss 
Odencranz,  The  Survey,  May  i,  1909. 

2  Quoted  in  La  Follette's  Magazine,  Nov.  12,  1910,  p.  n. 


WOMAN  LABOR  415 

Miss  MacLean's  investigation  of  the  girls  working  in  clothing 
factories  in  New  York  City  led  to  the  following  conclusion: 
"  Speed  was  the  watchword,  and  to  it  each  one  harkened,  for 
speed  means  money;  speed  means  preferment;  and  it  may 
mean  permanent  work.  That  it  may  also  become  synony- 
mous with  nervous  wreckage,  premature  age,  and  even  death, 
is  not  considered  in  the  mad  race  to  turn  out  the  finished 
product."1  But  the  pertinent  question  is:  Can  the  American 
nation  afford  to  pay  such  a  price  for  cheap  articles?  The 
problem  of  the  middle-aged  working  woman  who  has  been 
thrust  aside  because  she  can  no  longer  keep  up  the  pace 
required  of  our  industrial  workers  is  attracting  the  attention 
of  students  of  social  problems. 

Reasons  for  the  Low  Wages  of  Women  Workers.  Why  do 
women  usually  receive  lower  wages  for  the  same  work,  or 
work  requiring  a  like  degree  of  skill  and  training,  than  are  paid 
to  male  wage  earners?  Several  reasons  may  be  given: 
(i)  Women  are  physically  weaker  than  men,  and  in  certain 
occupations  cannot  perform  all  the  operations  which  can  be 
intrusted  to  male  workers.  (2)  Women  are  more  liable  to 
attacks  of  sickness  than  men.  On  the  other  hand,  dissipation 
causes  greater  irregularity  of  work  among  men  than  among 
women  workers.  (3)  Women  are  limited  to  a  smaller  number 
of  occupations  than  men,  thus  increasing  the  competition  for 
work.  Although  the  census  figures  show  that  women  workers 
were  found  in  nearly  all  of  the  three  hundred  separate 
occupations,  the  majority  of  women  workers  are  still  concen- 
trated in  a  few  occupations,  —  particularly  those  requiring 
routine  work  and  little  skill.  (4)  "Immobility  of  labor"  is  a 
more  marked  phenomenon  among  women  than  among  men 
workers.  Not  only  are  female  workers  confined  to  a  com- 
paratively small  number  of  occupations;  but  it  is  more  diffi- 
cult for  women  than  for  men  to  go  from  one  locality  to  another 
1  MacLean,  Wage  Earning  Women,  p.  35. 


4i 6    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

seeking  employment.  (5)  Women  workers  are  frequently 
subsidized.  Many  are  aided  by  relatives  or  live  at  home. 
The  subsidized  worker  is  willing  to  accept  lower  wages  than 
the  self-supporting  wage  earner,  and  becomes  a  dangerous 
competitor  of  the  latter.  (6)  Potential  and  actual  competi- 
tion with  women  workers  in  the  home  is  an  important  factor 
in  keeping  down  the  scale  of  wages.  Any  increase  in  wages 
will  cause  more  women  to  leave  the  home  and  enter  the  ranks 
of  wage  earners.  In  this  manner  the  supply  of  workers  is 
increased  and  further  advances  checked.  The  actual  com- 
petition with  workers  in  the  home  anxious  to  earn  "pin- 
money"  is  even  more  potent.  (7)  Women  are  not,  as  a  rule, 
interested  in  learning  a  trade,  because  they  do  not  expect  to 
remain  long  as  wage  earners.  Nearly  all  look  forward  to 
matrimony.  Consequently  women  workers  are  not  as  ambi- 
tious and  eager  for  advancement  as  are  men.  Because  of 
this  industrial  instability,  employers  do  not  desire  to  take 
as  apprentices  those  who  are  anxious  to  learn  a  trade.  (8) 
Men  have  found  the  formation  of  labor  organizations  an  im- 
portant factor  in  increasing  wages.  Women  have  not  been 
willing  to  organize  into  strong  unions  because  (a)  they  expect 
to  marry  in  the  not  distant  future  and  withdraw  from  the 
industrial  field,  and  (£>)  the  past  experience  of  women  has  been 
such  as  to  make  it  difficult  for  them  to  organize  and  to  act 
unitedly.  This  difficulty  is  diminishing  as  the  years  pass  by. 
Organizations  of  women  workers  are  increasing  in  number 
and  in  importance;  and  union  men  are  aiding  rather  than 
opposing  such  organizations.  When  the  women  teachers  of 
New  York  City  demanded  salaries  equal  to  those  paid  men 
teachers,  they  sought  and  obtained  the  support  of  labor  lead- 
ers in  that  city.  (9)  The  custom  of  paying  women  less  than 
men  is  an  influence  which  is  not  wholly  negligible.  (10) 
Women  are  not  granted  the  unlimited  suffrage  except  in  five 
Western  states.  This  fact  is  of  some  importance  in  keeping 


WOMAN  LABOR  417 

down  the  wage  scale  in  municipal  and  governmental  employ- 
ment; and  indirectly  wages  in  other  employments  are  affected, 
(n)  One  further  factor  based  upon  the  psychology  of  women 
has  been  noted.  It  is  said  that  women  are  always  grateful 
to  the  man  who  gives  them  employment.  Consequently, 
many  women  remain  with  an  employer  when  they  might  do 
better  elsewhere.  Modesty  often  prevents  the  woman  worker 
from  asking  for  increased  wages. 

Obstacles  to  Organization.  Women  wage  earners  are  not  as 
easily  united  into  strong  and  permanent  labor  organizations 
as  are  the  male  workers.  The  number  of  women  unionists  is 
increasing;  and  very  definite  measures  are  being  taken  by 
such  organizations  as  the  National  Women's  Trade  Union 
League,  not  only  to  increase  the  numerical  strength,  but  also  to 
develop  the  spirit  of  loyalty  to  the  union.  The  great  obstacles 
which  retard  the  organization  of  female  workers  are  two  in 
number:  (i)  The  past  experience  of  generations  of  women 
has  not  been  of  the  sort  which  would  enable  a  woman  to  act  in 
unison  with  other  women.  Woman  has  lived  an  isolated, 
restricted,  and  dependent  life.  Her  sphere  has  been  the  home; 
and  she  has  been  privileged  to  have  but  few  points  of  contact 
with  the  outside  world.  Her  industry  has  ever  been  of  the 
small-scale  type.  Weather  conditions,  poor  facilities  for 
transportation  and  communication,  and  unyielding  traditions 
have  aided  in  preventing  this  half  of  humanity  from  partici- 
pating in  associated  effort  of  any  sort  whether  industrial  or 
social.  As  a  consequence,  even  when  women  are  brought 
together  as  in  recent  years  in  the  factory  and  elsewhere  there 
has  been  hardly  a  modicum  of  cooperation,  associated  effort, 
or  exchange  of  experience.  Woman's  isolated  and  sheltered 
position  has  not  encouraged  innovation  or  invention,  and 
women  have  become  entangled  in  a  web  of  traditions  and 
conventions  from  which  it  is  quite  difficult  to  escape.  The 
women's  club  represents  a  step  away  from  the  older  ideals. 


41 8    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

It  has  been  a  training  school  for  the  teaching  of  collective  and 
organized  activity.  This  experience  is  of  value  in  hastening 
the  growth  of  unionism  among  women  wage  earners.  The 
experience  of  women  workers  in  factories,  stores,  and  offices 
also  tends  to  modify  the  older  views  as  to  woman's  rightful 
privileges  and  as  to  the  propriety  of  united  and  aggressive 
action.  Contact  as  wage  earners  with  the  factory  system 
and  large-scale  industry  changes  the  attitude  of  women  as 
well  as  of  men  toward  the  propriety  and  desirability  of  col- 
lective activity.  The  importance  of  the  first  obstacle  is 
growing  less  and  less  with  the  passage  of  years.  (2)  A  large 
percentage  of  women  wage  earners  are  young  and  unmarried. 
They  do  not  expect  to  remain  breadwinners  except  for  a 
few  years.  Since  the  important  advantages  which  accrue 
from  a  labor  organization  are  often  long  deferred,  a  girl 
worker  is  unwilling  to  pay  dues  and  perhaps  suffer  some 
present  discomfort  for  a  collective  benefit  which  may  not  be 
received  by  the  membership  until  after  she  is  no  longer  a 
member.  Union  organizers  of  women  workers  are  presenting 
a  different  and  a  pertinent  view  of  the  situation.  They  insist 
that  even  though  women  workers  do  expect  to  marry  within  a 
few  years,  their  interest  in  labor  organizations  among  women 
is  not  small.  Low  wages  for  women  tend  to  reduce  wages 
for  men,  or  at  least  to  prevent  increases.  Organization,  it  is 
urged,  and  rightly  so,  will  aid  in  obtaining  higher  wages, 
shorter  hours,  and  better  conditions  for  women  workers.  If, 
therefore,  working  girls  refuse  to  organize  today,  their  action 
may  adversely  affect  the  income  of  their  future  husbands 
and  the  income  of  their  own  future  households.  It  follows, 
according  to  this  line  of  reasoning,  that  all  women  workers 
are  as  vitally  interested  in  labor  organizations  as  are  male 
wage  earners.  The  proposal  to  introduce  the  marriage  dowry 
as  a  benefit  feature  in  unions  of  women  workers  is  another 
method  of  breaking  the  force  of  the  second  obstacle. 


WOMAN  LABOR  419 

Working  Women  and  the  Home.  The  primitive  industrial 
worker  was  a  woman.  As  the  centuries  have  rolled  by,  man 
has  usurped  many  industrial  functions,  and  has  narrowed  the 
original  sphere  of  woman's  duties.  In  recent  decades  the 
home  has  been  stripped  of  various  kinds  of  industry,  and 
woman  is  following  her  work  out  of  the  home.  The  factory 
has  been  a  magnet  which  has  drawn  women  from  the  home. 
In  the  cities  of  this  country,  at  least  one  in  seven  adult  women 
are  workers  employed  outside  the  home.  In  the  case  of  many 
of  the  homes  of  city  workers  of  the  unskilled  group,  the 
function  of  the  home  has  been  reduced  chiefly  to  that  of  an 
eating  and  sleeping  place.  Amusement,  social  intercourse,  the 
making  of  clothing,  and  a  considerable  part  of  the  work  of 
preparing  food  has  been  transferred  to  public  amusement  halls, 
factories,  and  bakeries.  The  home  and  women's  sphere  of 
activity  are  undergoing  remarkable  transformations. 

From  the  viewpoint  of  economic  science  the  entrance  of 
women  into  the  industrial  activity  outside  the  home  must  be 
considered  favorably.  "Woman  is  half  of  mankind.  Civi- 
lization and  progress  have  hitherto  been  carried  forward  by 
the  male  half  alone.  Labor  and  production  are  now  suffering 
from  the  same  cause.  It  is  high  tune  that  all  the  forces  of 
society  were  brought  into  action,  and  it  is  especially  necessary 
that  those  vast  complement  forces  which  woman  alone  can 
wield  be  given  free  rein,  and  the  whole  machinery  of  society 
be  set  in  full  and  harmonious  operation."1  In  the  long  run 
the  entrance  of  women  into  the  factory  and  the  store  will 
increase  the  total  volume  of  production  and  should  allow  a 
diminution  in  the  length  of  the  average  working  day.  Many 
of  the  evil  effects  which  are  so  obvious  in  the  case  of  female 
wage  earners  are  due  to  the  unfavorable  conditions  which 
obtain  in  modern  industry,  and  which  adversely  affect  male 
as  well  as  female  workers,  —  the  long  working  day,  over- 
1  Ward,  Dynamic  Sociology.  Vol.  i  :  657. 


420    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

driving,  and  unhealthful  or  dangerous  working  environments. 
In  the  case  of  the  married  woman  who  is  a  wage  earner,  the 
burden  of  household  duties  still  further  complicates  the  situ- 
ation. Up  to  the  present  time  the  percentage  of  such  wage 
earners  is  small.  In  1890,  4.6  per  cent,  of  the  married  women 
were  wage  earners;  in  1900  the  percentage  was  5.6. 

The  problems  connected  with  the  work  of  women  outside 
the  home  are  complicated  (i)  by  deep-seated  prejudices,  (2) 
by  the  danger  of  reducing  the  wages  of  men  during  the  neriod 
of  adjustment.  The  rush  of  women  into  wage-earnin^fcm- 
pations  affects  the  workers  already  in  industry  in  very 
the  same  manner  as  does  the  introduction  of  more 
saving  machinery.  (3)  The  third  complication  applies 
to  mothers  who  are  wage  earners,  and  arises  out  of  the  neces- 
sity of  giving  proper  training  to  children.  The  woman  wage 
earner  is  not  an  abnormal  woman.  Idleness  or  the  perform- 
ance of  useless  forms  of  work  are  undesirable  in  the  case  of 
women  as  well  as  in  the  case  of  men.  Useful  and  efficient 
activity  is  the  birthright  of  all.  The  solution  of  the  prob- 
lems connected  with  woman  labor  is  to  be  sought  not  in  the 
removal  of  women  from  wage-earning  pursuits,  but  in  improv- 
ing the  working  environment  of  the  woman  wage  earner,  and 
in  reducing  the  length  of  her  working  day.1  Labor  problems 
are  not  sharply  differentiated  along  sex  lines. 

Education  of  Women.  During  the  period  of  adjustment  to 
modified  industrial  conditions  within  the  home  the  problem 
of  the  education  of  women  presents  many  unusual  features* 
While  women  are  adjusting  themselves  to  the  requirements  of 
city  environments  and  of  new  industrial  methods,  their 
education  must  follow  two  somewhat  distinct  lines.  Each 
young  woman  must  be  prepared  to  be  a  home  maker  in  the 
old  sense  of  the  term,  and  she  ought  to  be  trained  so  that  she 
may  earn  her  own  living.  A  woman  should  be  competent 
1  Carlton,  Education  and  Industrial  Evolution,  Chapters  V  and  VI. 


WOMAN  LABOR  421 

to  manage  a  household,  she  should  understand  the  relative 
nutritive  values  of  different  foods,  and  be  familiar  with  the 
elementary  principles  of  household  sanitation  and  of  home 
decoration,  and  she  ought  to  possess  at  least  an  elementary 
knowledge  of  the  proper  methods  of  feeding  and  caring  for 
children.  On  the  other  hand,  if  our  interpretation  of  the 
trend  of  industrial  evolution  be  adequate,  a  woman  should  be 
trained,  as  should  a  man,  for  efficient  service  in  some  line  of 
human  endeavor.  Women  as  well  as  men  should  be  able  to 
ir  own  living  outside  the  home.  Many  may  dissent 
the  last  proposition,  but  doubtless  they  appeal  to  the 
in  support  of  their  contention.  If  women  are  to  become 
manent  and  efficient  industrial  workers,  adequate  opportu- 
nity should  be  given  them  to  attain  workmanlike  proficiency 
in  their  chosen  trade  or  occupation.  In  the  immediate  future 
it  is  not  probable  that  all  women  will  become  wage  earners, 
but  it  is  probable  that  an  increasing  percentage  will  follow 
industry  out  of  the  home.  On  the  other  hand,  training  in 
domestic  science  and  home  economies  are  even  more  important 
today  than  in  the  case  of  preceding  generations,  because  the 
vigor  and  stamina  of  a  race  of  city  dwellers  are  in  a  large 
measure  dependent  upon  proper  diet,  sufficient  exercise,  and 
adequate  ventilation  of  homes,  schools,  and  workshops.  In 
the  immediate  future,  therefore,  the  purpose  of  education  for 
women  must  be  twofold:  preparation  for  industrial  activity, 
and  the  preparation  for  housekeeping  and  home  making.1 

Domestic  Service.  The  current  of  modern  industrial  pro- 
gress has  not  modified  in  any  considerable  degree  the  work 
of  the  domestic  servant;  household  industry  is  "belated." 
Many  forms  of  work  have  gone  outside  the  home,  or  may 
be  performed  outside  the  home  in  special  workshops;  but 
the  methods  actually  used  within  the  home  are  those  of 
small-scale  industry.  The  work  of  the  servant  is  not  highly 
1  Carlton,  Education  and  Industrial  Evolution,  pp.  118-119. 


422     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

specialized;  she  performs  a  variety  of  services.  Instead  of 
receiving  all  of  her  wage  in  money,  as  is  the  almost  universal 
custom  in  the  case  of  other  workers  except  farm  help,  the 
domestic  servant  is  still  partially  paid  in  kind.  Her  board 
and  lodging  are  furnished  by  her  employer.  As  yet,  with 
comparatively  few  exceptions,  her  hours  of  work  per  day  or 
per  week  are  irregular.  The  demands  which  may  be  made 
upon  a  servant  are  less  definitely  determined  than  in  the  case 
of  a  factory  or  a  store  employee. 

Domestic  service  seems  to  have  developed  directly  out  of 
serfdom.  Roscher,  the  German  economist,  discusses  domestic 
service  as  an  appendix  to  his  treatment  of  slavery.  The 
habit  of  addressing  servants  by  their  first  name,  or  by  their 
last  name  as  is  the  practice  in  England,  is  probably  a  survival 
of  slavery  and  serfdom.  The  relations  between  mistress  and 
servant  still  savor  of  the  old  feudal  relations  between  master 
and  serf.  The  characteristic  marks  of  this  relationship  are 
the  indefiniteness  of  the  service  required  from  the  servant,  and 
the  deference  which  the  servant  is  expected  to  show  to  the 
various  members  of  the  household.  The  isolation  of  the 
household  servant  from  other  workers  and  the  social  stigma 
attached  to  her  work  are  other  peculiar  features  of  this  form 
of  wage  earning.  From  the  point  of  view  of  the  workers  the 
chief  evils  connected  with  the  work  of  the  domestic  servant  are 
three :  the  long  and  indefinite  working  day,  the  lack  of  home 
life,  and  the  social  stigma  placed  upon  the  domestic  servant. 

REFERENCES  FOR  FURTHER  READING 

Abbott,  Journal  of  Political  Economy.  Vols.  14,  15,  16,  and  17. 
Also,  Women  in  Industry. 

Butler  and  Devine,  The  Pittsburgh  Survey,  Charities  and  The 
Commons.  March  6,  1909. 

Butler,  Women  and  The  Trades. 

Odencrantz,  "Irregularity  of  Employment  of  Women,"  The  Survey. 
May  i,  1909. 


WOMAN  LABOR  423 

Report  of  the  Industrial  Commission.     Vol.  19  :  923-932. 

MacLean,  Wage  Earning  Women. 

Carl  ton,  Education  and  Industrial  Evolution.     Chs.  5  and  6. 

Kelley,  Some  Ethical  Gains  through  Legislation,  pp.  105-208. 

Kellor,  Out  of  Work,  pp.  40-178. 

Van  Vorst,  Woman  Who  Toils. 

Maule,  "What  is  a  Shop  Girl's  Life?"  World's  Work.  Vol.  14: 
9311-9316. 

Thompson,  F.  M.,  "Truth  about  Women  in  Industry,"  North  Ameri- 
can Review.  Vol.  178:  751-766. 

Rubinow,  "The  Problem  of  Domestic  Service,"  Journal  of  Political 
Economy.  Vol.  14  :  502-519. 

Report  on  the  Statistics  of  Labor,  Massachusetts,  1906,  pp.  87-124. 
"Domestic  Service." 


CHAPTER  XV 

PRISON  LABOR 

Systems  of  Prison  Labor.  In  an  investigation  carried  out 
under  the  direction  of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Labor  in 
1903-1904  a  yearly  average  of  practically  eighty-six  thousand 
inmates  was  found  in  the  296  institutions  in  which  productive 
labor  to  the  annual  value  of  at  least  $1,000  was  performed. 
Only  59.5  per  cent,  of  the  total  number  incarcerated  were 
actually  employed  in  productive  labor;  24.9  per  cent,  were 
occupied  with  prison  duties,  and  the  remainder  were  sick  or 
idle.  At  least  six  industrial  systems  are  used  in  the  prisons 
of  the  United  States,  — (lease^  contract,  piece^grice,  rjublic 
account,  stattMise,  and  public  works  and  ways^syjtems.) 

The  lease  system  is  a  survival  from  the  time  before  the 
modern  idea  of  reformation  was  considered  in  the  treatment 
of  prisoners.  It  is  a  convenient  and  often  profitable  method 
of  caring  for  prisoners.  The  state  needs  houses  of  detention 
only,  not  penitentiaries;  and  often  the  income  from  the  hire 
of  the  convicts  is  not  inconsiderable.  The  convicts  are  leased 
to  contractors.  The  latter  agree  to  feed,  clothe,  house,  and 
guard  (he  prisoners  and  keep  them  at  work.  The  state  sur- 
renders its  duty  of  disciplining  and  controlling  the  prisoners. 
A  public  function  is  delegated  to  private  agencies.  The 
lessee  is  interested  in  making  a  profit  from  the  labor  power  of 
the  convicts;  the  conditions  under  the  lease  system  approx- 
imate those  obtaining  under  a  slave  system.  Reformation 
finds  no  place  in  this  method  of  caring  for  prisoners.  The  lease 
system  is  a  relic  of  barbarism ;  nothing  can  be  said  in  its  favor 
except  that  it  saves  the  state  certain  expenses  and  allows 

424 


PRISON  LABOR  425 

certain  private  contractors  to  increase  their  income.  In 
1906  the  prison  commission  of  Georgia  reported  that  the  net 
profits  to  the  state  from  its  leased  convicts  were  approximately 
$355>°°°-  The  prisoners  were  used  in  saw-mills  and  brick- 
yards, on  farms  and  in  road  building.  "Some  of  the  large 
fortunes  in  Atlanta  have  come  chiefly  from  the  labor  of 
chain  gangs  of  convicts  leased  from  the  state."  In  1903- 
1904  only  five  states,  Alabama,  Georgia,  Florida,  Virginia 
and  Wyoming,  were  disgraced  by  this  system.  Georgia 
abandoned  the  system  in  1908.  An  additional  evil  in  the 
lease  system  is  found  in  the  incentive  to  increase  the  number 
of  arrests  in  order  to  increase  the  total  profits  that  may  be 
made  from  the  prisoners. 

The  contract  system  is  a  modified  and  improved  form  of 
the  lease  system.  The  state  feeds,  clothes,  houses,  guards, 
and  disciplines  the  prisoners,  [The  wqrk  is  performed  within 
the  prison  walls^)  The  contractor  usually  furnishes  the 
machines  and  the  raw  material.  He  superintends  the  work, 
markets  the  product,  and  pays  the  state  a  stipulated  sum 
for  the  labor  of  each  convict.  Various  devices  are  utilized 
by  contractors  to  stimulate  the  workers.  In  1903-1904 
the  contract  system  was  used  in  institutions  located  in 
2j_states. 

Under  this  system  the  state  need  not  invest  in  expensive 
machinery,  and  the  warden  is  relieved  of  certain  business 
cares  connected  with  other  systems  of  convict  labor.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  prisoners  are  under  a  divided  control;  and  it 
is  practically  impossible  to  provide  a  variety  of  industries  so 
that  prisoners  may  be  placed  at  the  kind  of  work  for  which 
they  are  best  adapted.  Labor  cannot  be  made  reformatory 
or  developmental  when  profits_  constitute  the  chief  end  and 
aim  of  the  system.  Wage  earners  and  business  men  fre- 
quently object  to  this  system  of  prison  labor  because  of  the 
danger  of  direct  competition  with  free  labor.  The  work  of 


426    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

the  prisoners  is  usually  concentrated  upon  a  small  number  of 
products,  thus  increasing  the  competitive  evils. 
,    The  piece-price  system  is  similar  to  the  contract  system. 
\The  contractor  pays  the  state  a  stipulated  sum  per  article) 
produced    instead    of    per    convict    furnished.     The    prison 
officials  dictate  the  amount  of  work  to  be  performed  per  day 
by  the  prisoners,  and  usually  supervise  the  work.     The  state 
practically  agrees  to  convert  the  raw  material  of  the  con- 
tractor into  finished  articles  for  a  stipulated  sum.     The  state 
does  not  market  any  of  the  products. 

In  the  public-account  system  the  state  becomes  a  Tnami- 
facturer  utilizing  prison  labor.  The  private  contractor  is 
eliminated,  and  all  profits  are  turned  into  the  treasury  of  the 
state.  Under  this  system  successful  prison  officials  ought  not 
only  to  understand  the  science  of  penology,  but  they  ought  also 
to  possess  business  ability.  The  state  must  invest  in  expensive 
machinery,  and  must  be  prepared  to  meet  changing  market 
conditions.  Considerations  connected  with  profit  making  are 
likely  to  triumph  over  those  concerned  primarily  with  the  wel- 
fare and  reformation  of  the  prisoners.  The  probability  of 
undesirable  competition  with  industry  outside  the  prison  walls 
is  practically  the  same  as  in  the  contract  or  the  piece-price  sys- 
tem. The  latter  systems  seem  on  the  whole  preferable  to  the 
public-account  system.  Institutions  located  in  forty  states 
were  using  this  system  in  1903-1904.  Michigan  has  recently 
built  a  binder- twine  plant  in  the  state  penitentiary  at  Jackson. 

The  state-use  system  eliminates  direct  competition  between 
convict-made  goods  and  the  goods  made  outside  the  prison 
walls.  All  articles  produced  are  utilized  in  the  various  state 
institutions.  Of  course,  if  the  prisoners  did  not  manufacture 
the  supplies  for  the  various  state  institutions,  the  necessary 
work  would  be  performed  by  free  workmen;  but  the  competi- 
tion is  indirect.  The  representatives  of  organized  labor  are, 
as  a  rule,  in  favor  of  the  state-use  system. 


PRISON  LABOR  427 

The  buildings  of  the  federal  prison  at  Fort  Leavenworth, 
Kansas,  were  constructed  by  the  prisoners.  Some  of  the 
prisoners  are  used  upon  the  prison  farm,  many  in  making 
bricks,  others  in  constructing  new  buildings.  Outdoor  work 
is  considered  by  the  warden  to  have  a  very  beneficial  influence 
upon  the  physical,  mental,  and  moral  stamina  of  the  prisoners. 
The  State  Tuberculosis  Hospital  of  Georgia  was  erected 
almost  entirely  by  convicts. 

The  Cleveland  Farm  Colony  at  Warrensville,  Ohio,  is 
located  upon  a  tract  of  land  1,950  acres  in  area.  On  the  farm 
are  located  the  "correctional  farm"  (workhouse),  the  "farm 
cokmy"  or  poor  farm,  and  a  hospital  for  patients  afflicted 
with  tuberculosis.  The  farm  is  worked  by  the  inmates  of  the 
correctional  house  and  the  home  for  the  indigent.  A  stone 
quarry  is  also  worked  by  inmates  from  the  correctional  insti- 
tution. The  farm  furnishes  vegetables,  and  the  stone  quarry 
stone  and  cement  for  various  city  institutions.  Many  con- 
victs are  employed  upon  a  state  farm  in  Georgia.  "This 
system  seeks  to  conserve  three  interests  instead  of  two  —  the 

state,  the  general  interest  of  the  con- 


vict, and  to  at  least  an  equal  extent,  the  interest  of  free  labor, 
which  is  ignored  entirely  in  the  lease,  contract,  and  piece- 
price  systems  and  to  a  great  extent  in  the  public-account 
system."1  The  state-use  system  cannot  always  furnish  the 
variety  of  work  which  is  desirable  in  order  that  prisoners 
may  be  given  the  work  for  which  they  are  adapted;  and  the 
plants  often  cannot  be  worked  to  their  fullest  capacity,  or  in 
the  most  efficient  and  economical  manner. 

The  public  works  and  ways  system  is  merely  a  modification 
of  the  state-use  system.  The  prisoners  are  used  to  construct 
and  repair  public  buildings,  roads,  parks,  and  the  like.  The 
construction  of  the  buildings  at  the  Fort  Leavenworth  prison 
is  an  example  of  the  use  of  this  system  of  prison  labor.  The 

1  Twentieth  Annual  Report  of  Commissioner  of  Labor,  p.  19. 


428    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

most  customary  application  of  the  public  works  and  ways 
system  is  in  the  construction  of  roads. 

Should  the  Convict  be  a  Producer?  Manufacturers  of  the 
kinds  of  goods  produced  in  prisons  and  members  of  labor 
organizations  are  almost  a  unit  in  their  opposition  to  the 
lease,  contract,  piece-price,  and  public-account  systems  of 
prison  labor.  They  point  to  the  demoralizing  effect  of  the 
competition  of  prison-made  goods  with  articles  produced  by 
free  labor.  The  tendency  is  to  reduce  the  prices  obtained 
for  the  particular  kind  of  goods  or  at  least  to  cause  the 
market  to  become  unsteady,  to  decrease  the  wages  and, 
therefore,  to  lower  the  standard  of  living  of  the  free  workers. 
Such  competition  also,  it  is  urged,  tends  to  cause  deteriora- 
tion in  the  quality  of  the  products  made  outside  the  prison. 
The  manufacturers  put  a  poorer  article  on  the  market  in  order 
to  meet  the  competition  of  the  prison-made  articles.  As  has 
been  stated,  little  opposition  is  manifested  toward  the  state- 
use  and  the  public  works  and  ways  systems. 

Convict  labor  is  marked  by  certain  peculiarities  which 
make  it  a  menace  to  free  labor,  (i)  It  is  a  form^of  subsidized 
labor;  the  prisoner  must  be  fed,  clothed,  and  housed  whether 
he  works  or  lives  in  idleness.  (2)  The  labor  forceps  always 
available;  it  cannot  strike,  nor  can  an  individual  worker 
withdraw  in  order  to  accept  another  job.  (3)  Convict  labor 
and  the  output  of  convict-made  goods  will  be  very  slightly 
affected  by  periods  of  depression  or  of  prosperity.  (4)  Con- 
vict labor  is  quite  similar  in  many  respects  to  slave  labor. 
The  motives  which  lead  to  industry  are  almost  identical. 

From  the  standpoint  of  society  and  from  that  of  the  tax- 
payer, it  is  desirable  that  prisoners  be  producers.  Non- 
producers  and  idlers  are  social  burdens  whether  inside  or 
outside  of  prison  walls.  In  so  far  as  prisoners  contribute 
through  their  labor  to  their  own  maintenance,  the  burden  of 
taxation  is  reduced.  Considerations  of  humanity  and  the 


PRISON  LABOR  429 

ideal  of  reformation  require  that  prisoners  be  given  regular 
and  useful  work.  Idleness  begets  degeneracy.  With  a  view 
of  making  it  possible  for  the  discharged  prisoner  to  take  his 
place  in  the  ranks  of  useful  free  workers,  some  kind  of  trade 
instruction  should  be  given  at  least  to  the  prisoners  who  have 
not  as  yet  reached  the  age  of  forty  or  forty-five  years.  Dis- 
charged prisoners  ought  to  be  prepared  to  earn  their  living  in 
some  useful  manner.  Therefore,  the  work  given  should  be  of 
such  a  character  as  will  be  useful  outside  the  prison  walls. 
At  this  point  the  principle  of  reformation  often  conflicts  with 
the  practical  demand  for  financial  gain.  Teaching  prisoners 
trades  or  certain  forms  of  useful  industry  often  reduces  the 
total  value  of  the  prison's  output  below  what  a  purely  business 
administration  would  attain.  Non-productive  labor  for  pris- 
oners, such  as  twisting  and  untwisting  ropes,  is  degrading  and 
mischievous  in  its  effect  upon  the  prisoner. 
,  Conclusions,  i.  All  convicts  should  be  gvgn_useful  work 
[  to  perform.  This  is  urged  on  the  double  ground  of  economy 
\  and  health.  2.  All  young  prisoners,  at  least,  ougnt  to  Tfe 
1  tau^hT*some_ trade  which  will  help  them  to  earn  an  honest 
/  living  after  leaving  the  institution.  In  the  federal  prisons 
the  use  of  machinery  is  prohibited.  3.  Prison-made  goods 
ought  not  to  be  placed  on  the  market  so  as  to  come  into 
injurious  competition  with  free  labor.  4.  A  national  law 
prohibiting  convict-made  goods  from  entering  into  interstate 
commerce  is  desirable.  Such  an  enactment  would  enable  a 
state  to  improve  its  laws  in  regard  to  convict  labor  without 
meeting  competition  from  the  convict-made  goods  of  other 
states. 


430    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

REFERENCES  FOR  FURTHER  READING 

Twentieth  Annual  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor.      Chs.  i  and  2. 

Report  of  the  Industrial  Commission.     Vol  3. 

Henderson,  Dependents,  Defectives,  Delinquents,  pp.  294-298. 

Bolen,  Getting  A  Living.     Ch.  26. 

Bliss,  Encyclopedia  of  Social  Reform.     Article  on  Convict  Labor. 

Russell,  "Beating  Men  to  Make  Them  Good,"  Hampton's  Magazine. 
October,  1909. 

Baker,  The  American  Magazine.  June,  1907.  A  word  picture  of  the 
evils  of  the  lease  system. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

UNEMPLOYMENT 

UNEMPLOYMENT  is  not  purely  a  labor  problem.  In  times  of 
depression  there  are  unemployed  land  and  capital  as  well  as  an 
unemployed  labor  force.  Maladjustments  because  of  modi- 
fied tastes  and  the  eccentricities  of  fashion'  affect  both  capital 
and  labor.  To  the  average  wage  earner  the  irregularity  of 
employment  furnishes  an  ever-present  source  of  anxiety. 
Unemployment  is  one  of  the  important  causes  of  poverty  and 
of  lack  of  thrift  and  foresight  on  the  part  of  the  wage-earning 
population.  Periods  of  idleness  are  often  demoralizing  to 
the  individual,  and  increase  the  amount  of  debauchery, 
crime,  and  industrial  inefficiency.  Casual  and  irregular  em- 
ployment is  almost  universally  recognized  by  students  of 
practical  sociology  ("  to  involve  deterioration  in  both  the 
physique  and  character  of  those  engaged  in  it.") 

Unemployment  is  a  comprehensive  term  and  is  the  result 
of  a  multitude  of  causes.  Unemployment  and  vacation  must 
first  be  differentiated.  Vacation  is  a  cessation  from  labor  for 
the  sake  of  rest  and  recuperation.  Unemployment  is  caused 
by  inability:,  to  work  or  to  obtain  employment.  In  certain 
border  cases  it  is  difficult  to  distinguish  between  a  case  of 
unemployment  and  of  vacation.  The  building  trades  ex- 
perience periods  of  slack  work  during  the  winter  season. 
Since  high  wages  are  maintained  in  these  trades,  this  period 
of  idleness  may  be  said  to  approximate  in  character  a  vacation. 
In  the  clothing  industry  the  slack  season,  on  the  other  hand, 
may  be  termed  one  of  unemployment.1 

1  See  Report  of  the  Industrial  Commission.    Vol.  19 :  749. 


432    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

Causes  of  Unemployment.  Many  classifications  of  the  causes 
of  unemployment  and  of  the  varieties  of  the  unemployed  have 
been  devised.  For  present  purposes  the  causes  of  unem- 
ployment may  be  grouped  under  four  general  headings: 
(  personal,  climatic,  industrial,  the  ignorance  and  immobility  of 
workers.  )  Many  persons  are  unemployed  because  ofTunoTry 
reasons,  such  as  youth,  old  age,  sickness,  accident,  mental 
disability,  intemperance,  and  degeneracy.  The  unemployable 
are  unable  or  unwilling  to  give  fairly  efficient  service.  Changes 
in  the  season  and  in  the  condition  of  the  weather  affect  the 
employment  of  various  classes  of  wage  earners,  such  as  sailors, 
farm  laborers,  workers  in  the  building  trades,  section  hands 
on  the  railway,  construction  gangs  upon  the  railways,  canals, 
reservoirs,  and  the  like.  Workers  in  the  clothing  industry 
are  affected  by  changes  in  demand  due  to  weather  conditions. 
The  industrial  causes  of  unemployment  are  of  particular 
interest  to  the  student  of  labor  problems.  Strikes  and  jock- 
outs  cause  unemployment  at  times  in  nearly  all  lines  of  indus- 
try. However,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  a  strike  does  not 
always  increase  unemployment;  it  frequently  merely  shifts 
the  period  of  unemployment  from  one  season  of  the  year  to 
another.  The  introduction  and  use  of  machinery  and  of 
improved  methods  or  processes  of  manufacturing  or  of  trans- 
porting goods  affect  the  sum  total  of  unemployment.  The 
effect  of  the  use  of  machinery  upon  the  amount  of  unemploy- 
ment may  be  considered  from  several  different  viewpoints. 
(i)  Does  the  introduction  of  machinery  temporarily  displace 
workers?  (2)  Does  such  introduction  permanently  displace 
workers?  (3)  Has  the  introduction  of  machinery  tended  to 
produce  cycles  of  prosperity  and  depression  with  the  conse- 
quent irregularity  of  employment?  (4)  Has  the  introduction 
of  machinery  increased  the  over-driving  of  workers,  thus 
causing  them  to  be  thrown  out  as  unemployable  while  they 
should  be  in  the  prime  of  life? 


UNEMPLOYMENT  433 

The  introduction  of  a  new  "labor  saving"  device  or  machine 
displaces  many  individual  workers;  and  it  frequently  destroys 
the  value  of  a  trade.  The  introduction  of  machinery  reduced, 
for  example,  the  value  of  the  shoemaker's  trade.  The  in- 
vention of  the  linotype  affected  the  value  of  the  printers' 
trade.  It  is  not  easy  for  the  men  who  have  worked  for  years 
in  one  trade  to  adjust  themselves  to  new  conditions  when  the 
demand  for  their  skill  is  suddenly  destroyed  by  the  invention 
of  a  machine  which  does  the  work  formerly  required  of  them. 
Eventually  the  demand  for  workers  may  be  increased  as  the 
result  of  introduction  of  machinery;  but  immediately  many 
individuals  lose  good  jobs  because  the  machine  is  ready  to  do 
their  work.  They  are  thrown  out  of  employment,  or  they  are 
obliged  to  accept  an  inferior  job  at  lower  wages.  For  a  time, 
in  the  "short  run,"  many  wage  earners  are  undoubtedly 
adversely  affected  as  a  result  of  the  introduction  of  machinery. 
It  is  not  comforting  to  tell  the  man  who  is  jobless,  or  whose 
income  is  reduced  so  that  his  standard  of  living  must  be 
lowered,  or  whose  wife  and  children  must  become  wage  earn- 
ers, that  in  the  "long  run"  and  for  the  great  mass  of  workers 
these  "newfangled"  machines  will  be  beneficial.  Perhaps 
for  him  there  will  be  no  long  run.  A  profound  philosophy  of 
world  progress  and  of  human  betterment  does  not  appeal  to 
the  man  with  a  family  dependent  upon  his  daily  earnings 
when  he  faces  the  prospect  of  having  his  skill  and  training 
rendered  unmarketable. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  society  should  compensate  workers 
for  the  loss  of  a  trade.  The  principle  of  vested  interests  is  ap- 
plied to  the  skill  and  knowledge  possessed  by  the  master  of  a 
skilled  trade.  "Bv  the  Doctrine  of  Vested  Interests  we.  mean 
the  assumption  tliatTthe  wages  and  other  conditions  of  employ- 
ment hitherto  enjoyed  by  any  section  of  workmen  ought  under 
no  circumstances  to  be  interfered  with  for  the  worse."1 

1  Webb,  Industrial  Democracy,  p.  562,  1902  edition. 


434    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

The  various  struggles  on  the  part  of  organized  and  unorgan- 
ized labor  against  the  introduction  of  machinery  have  implied 
the  tacit  acceptance  of  this  doctrine,  although  the  precipi- 
tating cause  was  an  unreasoning  hatred  of  the  inanimate 
machine  which  was  reaching  out  for  the  workers'  jobs  and 
apparently  taking  away  their  bread  and  butter.  The  well 
organized  printers,  it  will  be  recalled,  met  the  menace  of  the 
linotype  by  insisting  that  only  skilled  printers  should  oper- 
ate the  machine.  The  adjustment  within  the  industry  was 
thus  made  without  serious  injury  to  the  skilled  men  in  the 
trade. 

The  American  economists  Hadley  and  Wright  are  con- 
vinced that  machinery  has  caused  an  "expansion"  of  labor 
which  is  greater  than  the  "displacement"  caused  by  its  intro- 
duction. Hobson,  the  well  known  English  economist,  after 
a  study  of  statistics  of  English  industries,  is  less  optimistic. 
Hobson  is  driven  to  the  conclusion  "that  the  net  influence  of 
machinery  is  to  diminish  employment  so  far  as  those  indus- 
tries are  concerned  into  which  machinery  directly  enters,  and 
to  increase  slightly  the  demand  in  those  industries  which 
machinery  affects  but  slightly  or  indirectly."  1 

Machine  industries  furnish  a  standardized  product  for  which 
the  demand  is  large  and  relatively  stable.  If  the  effect  of  the 
introduction  of  machinery  is  to  drive  relatively  larger  numbers 
of  wage  earners  into  the  industries  using  little  machinery,  the 
tendency  "is  to  drive  ever  and  ever  larger  numbers  of  workers 
from  the  less  to  the  more  unsteady  employments."  Thus 
argues  Hobson.  Again,  it  has  been  asserted  that  panics  and 
industrial  depressions  are  to  be  attributed  in  a  large  measure 
to  the  introduction  of  machinery.  In  all  panics,  however, 
other  factors  enter.  The  severe  crises  of  1837  and  1873  were 
preceded  by  wide-spread  speculation.  Land  values  increased 

1  Evolution  of  Modern  Capitalism,  pp.  234-235;  also  see  Political  Science 
Quarterly,  Vol.  8  :  97. 


UNEMPLOYMENT  435 

enormously;  vast  sums  were  spent  in  canals  and  railways 
without  a  reasonable  expectation  of  a  fair  return  upon  the 
investment  in  the  near  future.  In  the  past,  irregularity  of 
operations  in  the  industries  utilizing  much  machinery  may 
have  been  due  to  the  lack  of  centralized  control  of  industry; 
with  the  development  of  the  trust  and  the  integration  of 
industry  these  irregularities  may  be  expected  to  disappear  or 
to  be  minimized.  No  definite  and  entirely  satisfactory 
answer  can  be  given  to  the  second  and  third  questions  in 
regard  to  the  influence  of  machinery  upon  employment. 

The  charge  that  industry  is  increasing  unemployment  by 
throwing  workers  of  middle  age  upon  the  industrial  scrap-heap 
is  a  serious  indictment.  With  the  introduction  of  machinery 
the  length  of  the  working  day  has  been  somewhat  reduced, 
but  the  speed  of  the  worker  has  been  increased  and  the 
strain  intensified.  Division  of  labor  and  the  systematization 
of  industry  have  reduced  the  importance  of  the  individual 
wage  earner.  The  unskilled  worker  is  merely  a  link  in  the 
chain.  The  individuality  of  the  link  is  of  little  moment.  The 
units  may  change  frequently  without  disturbing  the  progress 
of  the  work.  This  peculiarity  of  modern  industry,  coupled 
with  the  fact  that  the  human  scrap-heap  of  an  industrial 
establishment  is  not  a  burden  upon  the  industry,  has  led  the 
managers  of  many  factories  and  mines  to  wear  out  rapidly 
the  lives  of  their  workers,  and  to  discard  them  soon  after  they 
have  passed  the  period  of  maximum  physical  vigor.  This 
policy  seems  advantageous  to  the  employer;  but  the  evils  from 
the  standpoint  of  the  wage  earners,  as  well  as  from  that  of 
the  community  in  which  the  workers  live,  are  obvious.  This 
phenomenon,  however,  is  not  entirely  of  recent  origin.  Adam 
Smith  in  his  Wealth  of  Nations  makes  this  significant  state- 
ment: "workmen  .  .  .  when  they  are  liberally  paid  by  the 
piece  are  very  apt  to  overwork  themselves,  and  to  ruin 
their  health  and  constitution  in  a  few  years.  A  carpenter 


436    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

in  London,  and  in  some  other  places,  is  not  supposed  to 
last  in  his  utmost  vigor  above  eight  years." 

Statistics  of  Unemployment  and  of  Irregularity  of  Employ- 
ment. Adequate  statistics  of  unemployment  are  not  available. 
Unemployment  is  an  ever-present  phenomenon;  but  the 
amount  varies  greatly  from  month  to  month  and  from  year  to 
year.  Fairly  accurate  statistics  of  unemployment  among  the 
organized  workers  of  the  State  of  New  York  are  available. 
The  smallest  percentage  of  unemployed  among  the  trade 
unionists  of  New  York  at  the  end  of  any  month  during  the 
period  1904  to  1909  inclusive,  was  5.6.  At  the  end  of  October, 
1905,  only  56  out  of  every  1,000  trade  unionists  were  idle;  but 
at  the  end  of  February  and  at  the  end  of  March,  1908,  375 
out  of  every  i:ooo  were  idle.  October,  1905,  was  a  favorable 
month  in  a  prosperous  year.  February  and  March,  1908, 
were  unfavorable  months  in  a  year  of  financial  depression. 

The  following  table  presents  the  "proportion  of  unem- 
ployed wage  earners  in  representative  trade  unions"  in  the 
State  of  New  York.1 

Percentage  of  Members  Idle 


1909 

1908 

1907 

1906 

1905 

1902-7 

January 

29-3 

36.9 

21-5 

15.0 

22.5 

2I.O 

February    .  .  . 

26.5 

37-S 

2O.I 

15-3 

19.4 

18.8 

March  

23.O 

37-1) 

18.? 

n.6 

IQ.2 

18  < 

April  

~o 
2O-3 

\j  i  j 
33-9 

~"'O 

IO.I 

7-3 

7 

n.8 

13.1 

May    

17.1 

32.2 

IO-5 

7.0 

8.3 

12.7 

June    .        .    . 

17-4 

•3,0.2 

8.1 

Q.I 

12.  <; 

July 

/     T^ 

I3.Q 

o 

26.8 

7.6 

y 

8.0 

*  ~  *  j 

12.  1 

August   

07 
II.9 

24.6 

12.  1 

/ 

5-8 

7.2 

IO.2 

September   .  . 

14-5 

24.6 

12.3 

6-3 

5-9 

8.7 

October  

13-7 

23.1 

I8.5 

6.9 

5-6 

10.8 

November    .  . 

13-3 

21-5 

22.O    is 

7-6 

6.1 

12.9 

December  .  .  . 

20.6 

28.0  . 

32-7  L/ 

iS-4 

ii.  i 

20.7 

Mean    18.5  29.7     '       16.2  9.3  11.2  14.3 

1  Bulletin  of  the  New  York  Department  of  Labor.     No.  43  :  7,  March,  1910. 
See  chart  in  Devine's  Misery  and  its  Causes,  p.  133. 


UNEMPLOYMENT  437 

Within  two  years  the  mean  percentage  of  unemployment 
fluctuated  from  9.3  to  29.7  among  the  organized  laborers  of 
the  state.  It  is  not  unreasonable  to  infer  (i)  that  the  fluctua- 
tion in  percentage  of  unemployment  among  the  unskilled  and 
unorganized  must  have  been  greater;  and  (2)  that  the  actual 
percentage  of  unemployed  in  both  years  was  probably  larger 
among  the  unorganized  workers  of  New  York.  \  The  situation 
is  certainly  alarming  when  nearly  one-third  of  the  organized 
workers  of  a  great  state  are  unemployed  as  was  the  situation 
in  New  York  in__igo8.  )  An  estimate  that  one-half  of  the 
unskilled  were  out  of  a  job  in  the  spring  of  1908  is  by  no 
means  extravagant. 

In  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  statistics  regarding  the  em- 
ployment of  organized  workers  are  also  gathered.  A  compari- 
son of  the  amount  of  unemployment  in  the  quarter  ending 
March  31  for  the  years  1908,  1909,  and  1910  is  interesting. 
In  1908,  of  the  unions  reporting  to  the  Bureau  of  Statistics 
the  total  membership  was  66,968,  of  whom  11,937  or  17.00 
per  cent,  were  unemployed  during  the  quarter.  In  1909  the 
membership  was  105,059;  the  unemployed  numbered  11,997 
or  11.42  per  cent.  In  1910  the  figures  were  117,082  and 
8,262  respectively;  and  the  percentage  of  unemployed  was 
7-06.1  Unemployment  decreased  absolutely  and  relatively 
during  the  two  years  succeeding  1908.  The  figures  for  differ- 
ent years  in  both  states  are  not  strictly  comparable  because 
of  the  shifting  membership  of  the  unions  reporting  to  the 
state  officials. 

The  causes  of  unemployment  among  organized  workers  of 
Massachusetts  and  New  York  are  tabulated  in  the  two  suc- 
ceeding tables.  It  should  be  observed  that  lack  of  work  is 
an  important  factor  in  causing  unemployment  in  both  states. 

1  Labor  Bulletin,  Massachusetts,  May,  1910.  In  1911  the  percentage  was 
To-44. 


438    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

Massachusetts 

Causes  of  Idleness  on  March  31, 1910  Number  Idle  Percentage  of 

Membership  Idlt 

Lack  of  Work  or  Material 6,186  5.28 

Unfavorable  Weather 113  o.io 

Strikes  or  Lockouts    56  0.08 

Disability  (Accident,  Sickness,  Old  Age)    . . .  1,646  1.41 
Other  Causes  including   Shut-downs,    Vaca- 
tions, Stock-taking,  etc 221  0.19 

Total 8,262  7x56 

New  York 

Causes  of  Idleness  on  Sept.  30, 1909  Number  Idle        Percentage  Idle 

Lack  of  Work   27,225 

Lack  of  Stock  2,5 1 7 

Weather 804 

Labor  Disputes 2,867 

Disability ££39 

Other  Reasons  or  Reasons  not  Stated     465 

Total 36,968                 ^o~j 

Among  the  employed  considerable  time  is  lost  during  a 
month  or  a  year.  Referring  again  to  New  York  during  the 
three  months  of  July,  August,  and  September,  1909,  319,754 
organized  male  workers  were  reported  as  employed.  Of  this 
number  4,289  were  employed  from  one  to  twenty-nine  days; 
43,891  from  thirty  to  fifty-nine  days;  211,593  ^rom  sixty  to 
seventy-nine  days;  and  59,981,  eighty  days  or  more.  The 
average  per  individual  was  seventy-two  days.  Deducting  Sun- 
days and  two  holidays,  the  normal  number  of  working  days  for 
the  quarter  would  be  seven  ty^even.  The  coal  mining  indus- 
try furnishes  an  example  of  great  irregularity  of  employment. 
In  the  bituminous  coal  mines  the  number  of  days  of  employ- 
ment for  miners,  from  1890  to  1900  inclusive,  ranged  from  171 
in  1894  to  234  in  1899  and  1900.  In  the  anthracite  field  the 
variation  was  from  150  in  1897  to  203  m  1891.  I*1  one  of 
the  large  packing  houses  in  the  Chicago  stock  yards  an  inves- 
tigation found  that  in  the  period  from  June  24,  1905,  to  June 


UNEMPLOYMENT  439 

6,  1906,  the  average  number  of  hours  worked  per  week  by  the 
cattle  butchers  varied  from  a  minimum  of  27  hours  to  a  maxi- 
mum of  S2_hours,  or  from  an  average  orTour  and  one-half 
hours  per  day  to  eight  and  two-thirds  hours. 

In  our  large  industrial  cities  special  opportunities,  which 
tend  to  increase  the  irregularity  of  employment,  are  offered 
the  small  manufacturer  in  the  clothing  trade  and  in  other 
industries.  In  New  York  City  many  tenement  or  "loft" 
buildings  are  utilized  by  small  manufacturers  in  industries  in 
which  seasonal  fluctuations  are  likely  to  occur.  Such  buildings 
in  large  cities  offer  the  entrepreneurs  some  advantages  which 
are  not  found  in  smaller  cities.  "For  instance,  they  can  hire 
a  well-lighted,  steamheated  factory  loft,  and  secure  all  the 
gas,  electric  light  and  power  they  need  by  merely  turning 
them  on  and  paying  for  what  they  use."  The  unemployed 
are  at  their  door/  They  can  hire  workers  as  they  need  them; 
and  discharge  them  "with  about  as  little  ceremony  as  they 
turn  off  the  gas."  The  fixed  expenses  of  these  entrepreneurs 
are  inconsiderable;  the  great  bulk  of  expenses  fluctuate  as  the 
volume  of  business  increases  or  diminishes.  The  effect  of 
the  increase  of  this  kind  of  business  opportunity  upon  the 
employees  is  evil;  inevitably  the  ranks  of  the  seasonal  and 
floating  population  will  be  swelled.  As  a  consequence,  the 
number  of  workers  traveling  the  road  which  leads  to  poverty, 
degeneracy,  crime,  and  licentiousness,  will  be  increased.  In 
New  York  City,  this  problem  of  the  "loft"  building  is  suffi- 
ciently urgent  to  warrant  an  investigation  by  a  newly  created 
"Board  of  Sanitary  Control."  l 

How  may  Unemployment  be  Reduced?  When  considerable 
numbers  of  men  who  are  able  and  willing  to  work  in  order  to 
support  themselves  and  families  are  unable  to  find  employ- 
ment, a  condition  of  maladjustment  exists  in  the  industrial 
mechanism  which  is  of  serious  import  to  all  members  of  the 
1  The  Survey,  January  21,  1911,  pp.  680-684. 


440    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

community  and  of  the  nation.  The  prevention  of  unemploy- 
ment in  the  case  of  the  normal  individual  is  one  of  the  vital 
social  and  economic  problems  of  modern  times.  In  sharp 
contrast  with  the  large  number  of  the  out-of-work  may  be 
placed  the  multitude  of  the  overworked.  ^A  solution  of  the 
problem  of  the  unemployed  will  involve  an  adjustment  or  a 
division  of  work  between  the  over-  and  the  under- worked.  It 
will  deal  with  the  improvement  of  the  underfed,  the  badly 
housed,  and  the  poorly  educated  workers.  The  attempt  to 
solve  the  problem  of  the  unemployed  will  lead  to  a  careful 
consideration  of  questions  of  taxation,  currency,  special  priv- 
ileges, property  rights,  ownership  of  land  and  of  natural 
resources,  immigration,  and  of  technical  advance.  ) 

Many  schemes  have  been  formulated  for  the  purpose  of  re- 
ducing the  amount  of  unemployment.  A  few  of  these  proposals 
will  be  briefly  considered,  (i)  TJie  amount  of  unemployment 
because  of  sickness  and  ill-health  could  be  measurably  reduced 
by  legislation  in  regard  to  sanitary  conditions  in  workshops, 
factories,  and  dwelling  houses,  and  by  the  education  of  the 
general  public  in  regard  to  the  danger  to  the  individual  of  a 
lack  of  proper  ventilation,  of  carelessness  in  the  disposal  of 
wastes,  of  a  badly  selected  diet,  of  improperly  prepared  food, 
and  so  on  through  a  long  list.  The  introduction . ol_domestic 
science  into  the  public  schools  is  a  step  in  the  right  direction. 
The  amount  of  drunkenness  and  debauchery  and,  therefore, 
of  unemployment,  is  increased  because  the  ordinary  rules  of 
right  living  in  regard  to  diet,  fresh  air,  and  disposal  of -wastes 
are  not  followed.  Under  modern  conditions  these  matters 
are  as  much  social  as  individual.  The  sanitary  conditions 
of  the  factory  in  which  the  wage  earner  works  and  of  the 
tenement  in  which  he  and  his  family  live,  and  the  purity  of 
the  food  they  eat  and  the  milk  and  water  they  drink  are  in  no 
small  measure  beyond  the  control  of  the  individual  most 
directly  concerned.  It  has  been  estimated  that  the  average 


UNEMPLOYMENT  441 

individual  in  the  United  States  is  seriously  ill  thirteen  days 
in  each  and  every  year;  or  that  about  3,000^000  persons  are 
sick  on  any  given  day.1 

(2)  The  reduction  of  rapid  and  senseless  changes  in  demand 
at  the  behest  of  fashion  would  eliminate  much  of  the  irregu- 
larity in  certain  industries.  A  campaign  of  education,  how- 
ever, would  face  almost  insurmountable  obstacles.  (3)  The 
general  introduction  of  Industrial  education  into  the  public 
school  system  will  increase  the  skill  and  mobility  of  future 
wage  earners  thus  enabling  them  to  shift  more  readily  from 
one  occupation  to  another.  The  adaptable  man  is  needed. 
This  desired  end  might  be  partially  accomplished  by  teaching 
each  individual  two  allied  trades.  The  "double-barreled 
man"  will  have  two  chances  to  get  a  job  to  one  on  the  part  of 
the  man  with  one  trade;  and  the  former  will  be  able  to  more 
readily  adapt  himself  to  changes  in  industrial  conditions. 

(4)  Employers  as  well  as  the  unemployed  wage  earners 
are  often  ignorant^  of  _the  conditions  of  the  labor  market. 
Efficient  private  and  public  employment  agencies  aid  in 
bringing  together  the  employer  looking  for  workers,  and  the 
worker  looking  for  a  job.  The  employment  agency  cannot 
create  opportunities  for  employment  ;T5utlt  can  aid  in  getting 
the  unemployed  a  job  when  vacancies  exist.  The  method  of 
going  aimlessly  from  shop  to  shop  and  from  town  to  town 
seeking  a  job  is  wasteful,  disheartening,  and  frequently  de- 
grading and  demoralizing;  and  it  often  affords  a  favorable 
opportunity  for  the  employer  to  nibble  at  the  wage  scale.  It 
is  unsystematic  and  should  be  replaced  by  efficient  employ- 
ment bureaus  which  gather  statistics  and  information  as 
to  the  demand  for  and  supply  of  workers  in  different  trades 
and  in  different  sections  of  the  country.  In  1907  fifteen 
states  had  established  thirty-seven  free  employment  agencies. 

1  Irving  Fisher,  National  Vitality.  Senate  Document  No.  676.  Sixtieth 
Congress,  First  Session,  p.  656. 


442    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

The  first  of  these  agencies  was  established  in  Ohio  in  1890. 
The  success  of  the  agencies  has  not  been  notable.1  The 
United  Kingdom  inaugurated  a  system  of  labor  exchanges 
in  February,  1910.  Offices  are  to  be  scattered  throughout 
England,  Scotland,  Wales,  and  Ireland. 

A  model  employment  agency  should  reduce  maladjustment. 
Iron  and  steel,  wheat,  wool,  stocks  and  bonds,  —  all  have 
known  market  places;  but  the  demand  and  supply  of  labor 
is  still  equated  by  the  pack-pedler  method.  A  model  em- 
ployment bureau  should  in  a  large  measure  relieve  the 
employer  of  "the  task  of  trying  out  new  hands."  Most 
employment  agencies  are  not  good  sales  agencies.  Their 
managers  do  not  "know  its  merchandise."  Employers  dis- 
trust employment  agencies  because  the  recommendation  of 
the  agency  is  usually  based  upon  insufficient  knowledge  of 
the  ability  and  record  of  the  person  recommended.  The 
young  boy  or  girl  leaving  school  should  find  an  agency 
of  assistance.  Many  leave  school  to  enter  occupations  which 
pay  relatively  high  wages  at  first,  but  which  afford  slight 
opportunity  for  advancement.  Of  those  applying  for  assist- 
ance under  the  English  Unemployed  Workman  Act  "no  less 
than  twenty-eight  per  cent,  are  between  twenty  and  thirty 
years  of  age."  (The  employment  bureau  should  also  aid  the 
young  in  the  selection  of  proper  vocations,  j  The  personal 
characteristics  of  the  applicant  and  the  opportunities  in  a 
given  occupation  should  be  given  careful  consideration. 

A  model  employment  bureau,  whether  established  by  a  pri- 
vate organization  or  by  governmental  authority,  would  cause 
many  public  and  private  agencies  to  perform  more  efficient 
service  and  would  drive  some  undesirable  agencies  out  of 
existence.  If  attempts  were  made  to  send  workers  from  one 
locality  to  another,  an  efficient  system  of  employment  agen- 
cies might  meet  with  some  opposition  from  organized  labor. 
1  Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor.  No.  68. 


UNEMPLOYMENT  443 

The  unions  in  the  places  to  which  workmen  were  sent  might 
object  because  the  local  supply  of  labor  would  be  increased. 
Agriculture  is,  however,  the  chief  occupation  which  is  calling 
for  the  transfer  of  men  from  one  locality  to  another. 

(5)  A  practical  method  of  reducing  the  volume  of  unem- 
ployment  during   a   period  of   depression  is  to  hasten  the 
improvement  of  roads,  streets,  and  public  parks,   to  build 
public  buildings,  and  to  push  work  upon  various  desirable 
public-improvements.     The  work  can  be  performed,  as  a  rule, 
cheaply  at  this  time,  and  the  expenditures  for  charitable 
relief  will  also  be  reduced.     During  the  panic  of  1908  several 
municipalities  used  this  method  of  furnishing  employment. 
The  Socialist  party  placed  the  following  demand  in  their 
1908  platform:  "The  immediate  government  relief  for  unem- 
ployed workers  by  building  schools,  by  the  reforesting  of  cut- 
over  and  waste  lands,  by  reclamation  of  arid  tracts,  and  the 
building  of  canals,  and  by  extending  all  other  useful  public 
works."     In  the  fall  of  1909  the  English  Parliament  passed 
a   "development  bill"  which  provided  that  certain  public 
works  be  undertaken.     The  work  is  to  be  done  chiefly  when 
work  is  slack  in  the  business  world. 

(6)  The^  growth  of  large  business   combinations,   accom- 
panied by  the  disappearance  of  fierce  competition  within 
particular  industrial  groups  and  the  increase  of  governmental 
and  municipal  regulation  of  industry,  will  reduce  the  fluctua- 
tions  in  the  demand  for  labor.     Labor  unions  sometimes 
demand  that  part  time  be  worked  with  a  full  force  instead  of 
discharging  a  portion  of  the  force  and  operating  full. time. 
With  the  enlargement  of  the  business  unit  and  the  knitting 
together  of  different  classes  of  businesses,  the  opportunity  to 
dovetail  industries  will  increase,  thus  reducing  the  seasonal 
oscillation  in  the  demand  for  labor.     Many  sailors  and  long- 
shoremen on  the  Great  Lakes  find  work  in  the  logging  camps 
during  the  winter.    In  Oregon,  during  the  slack  season,  many 


444    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

factory  workers  and  their  families  go  into  the  country  to 
pick  hops.  (7)  The  unemployment  which  is  caused  by  the 
early  discharge  of  the  overdriven  wage  earner  will  be  reduced 
by  the  general  introduction  of  an  adequate  system  of  work^ 
ingmen's  jnsurance.  (8)  Thejjnglft  taxers  andjjie_socialists 
enthusiastically  present  their  panaceas  for  unemployment. 

The  Right  to  a  Job.  Does  an  individual  have  a  right  to  a 
job?  Does  the  right  to  live  and  to  have  liberty  imply  the 
right  to  have  an  opportunity  to  earn  a  living?  Even  if  the 
individual  is  denied  such  rights  as  an  individual,  the  right  to 
a  job  is  entitled  to  a  hearing  on  the  ground  of  social  expediency. 
Particularly  is  this  true  in  a  country  favored  with  a  democratic 
form  of  government  and  an  efficient  industrial  system.  Surely 
the  conservation  of  the  rights  to  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit 
of  happiness  is  difficult  unless  the  right  to  have  an  oppor- 
tunity to  earn  a  living  is  conceded.  The  practical  difficulties 
to  be  overcome  in  successfully  carrying  out  a  policy  of  guar- 
anteeing to  every  able-bodied  worker  an  opportunity  to  earn 
the  minimum  amount  necessary  for  subsistence  are  many;  but 
the  problem  is  being  forced  upon  modern  society.  Under 
a  primitive  economy,  when  conditions  were  normal,  demand 
was  always  accompanied  by  an  opportunity  to  make  a  direct 
effort  to  obtain  satisfaction.  Our  present  complex  economic 
system  gives  this  privilege  to  only  a  fraction  of  the  community. 
In  order  to  satisfy  wants,  the  majority  must  obtain  work  of 
some,  other  individual,  —  from  an  employer.  An  individual, 
in  order  to  satisfy  his  wants,  must  find  an  employer  who  is 
willing  to  give  him  a  job.  The  establishment  of  a  legal  right 
to  work  would  make  the  wage  earner  less  dependent  upon  the 
private  employer.1  The  policy  of  furnishing  work  upon 
various  public  improvements  during  a  period  of  depression 
constitutes  a  step  in  that  direction.  If  the  legal  right  to  an 
opportunity  to  work  were  recognized,  involuntary  poverty 

1  See  the  writer's  "Education  and  Industrial  Evolution,"  pp.  291-294. 


UNEMPLOYMENT  445 

would  in  a  large  measure  disappear;  and  the  vagrant,  the 
vagabond,  and  the  seeker  after  charity  would  be  obliged  to 
prove  that  they  were  unable  to  work. 

REFERENCES  FOR  FURTHER  READING 

Report  of  the  Industrial  Commission.    Vol.  19  :  746-763. 

Bulletins  of  the  Department  of  Labor  of  the  State  of  New  York. 

Labor  Bulletins  of  the  Massachusetts  Bureau  of  Statistics. 

Hobson,  The  Evolution  of  Modern  Capitalism.  Chs.  7  and  8.  Also, 
The  Problem  of  the  Unemployed. 

Wright,  Industrial  Evolution  of  the  United  States.     Chs.  27  and  28. 

Hadley,  Economics.     Ch.  n. 

Devine,  Misery  and  its  Causes.     Ch.  3.  • 

Commons,  "The  Right  to  Work,"  The  Arena.     Feb.  1899. 

Bliss,  "The  Unemployed  in  European  Countries,"  Bulletin  of  the 
Bureau  of  Labor,  No.  76. 

Devine,  Report  on  the  Desirability  of  Establishing  an  Employment 
Bureau  in  the  City  of  New  York  (1009). 

Webb,  Industrial  Democracy,  pp.  430-452;   784-795. 

Kellor,  Out  of  Work. 

Bliss,  New  Encyclopedia  of  Social  Reform.    Article  on  Unemployment. 

Bolen,  Getting  A  Living.     Chs.  16  and  22. 

Beveridge,  Unemployment.    A  Problem  of  Industry. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

INDUSTRIAL  AND  TRADE  EDUCATION 

The  Training  of  Apprentices.  Originally  apprenticeship 
rules  applied  alike  to  the  trades  and  to  the  so-called  learned 
professions.  Although  concealed  under  new  names,  these 
have  been  adhered  to  quite  rigidly  down  to  the  present  time  in 
the  professions.  With  some  exceptions,  the  division  seems  to 
f  have  TbeenTmade  according  to  the  character  of  the  product. 
If  the  product  of  the  trade  or  profession  is  material,  appren- 
ticeship rules  have  gradually  been  changed,  and,  in  a  large 
measure,  have  become  obsolete.  If  the  product  of  the  trade 
or  profession  is  immaterial,  the  rules  have  been  successfully 
upheld  by  the  gild  of  the  profession  and  legalized  by  appro- 
priate legislation.  JThe  old  apprenticeship  system  reaches 
back  to  the  time  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  During  her  reign  it  was 
enacted  that  no  person  should  exercise  any  trade  or  "mys- 
tery" without  serving  an  apprenticeship  of  seygn^ygars.  The 
apprentice  was  indentured  to  a  master  for  that  period.  The 
apprentice  lived  in  the  home  of  the  master  as  a  member  of 
his  family.  The  master  became  the  guardian  of  the  boy.  He 
was  responsible  for  the  physical  well-being  and  the  intellectual, 
moral,  and  manual  training  of  the  apprentice. 

As  long  as  the  handicraft  system  prevailed,  the  old  appren- 
ticeship system  served  its  purpose  fairly  well,  although  doubt- 
less many  boys  were  not  properly  taught  and  were  exploited  in 
the  interests  of  their  masters.  With  the  industrial  revolution 
and  the  introduction  of  machinery  came  the  decadence  of  the 
system  of  apprenticeship.  By  1864  the  old  apprenticeship 
system  was  practically  only  a  matter  of  history.  In  the 

446 


INDUSTRIAL  AND  TRADE  EDUCATION  447 

decade  of  the  sixties  the  attitude  of  the  wage  earners  has  been 
summarized  somewhat  as  follows:  (i)  The  period  of  appren- 
ticeship should  be  fixed  at  not  less  than  five  years.  (2)  The 
number  of  apprentices  in  a  trade  should  be  limited.  "The 
unanimous  feeling  among  mechanics  was  that  the  cause  of 
low  wages,  lack  of  work,  and  powerlessness  of  workers  to 
withstand  oppression  by  employers  was  due  to  an  excessive 
number  of  workers  in  the  various  skilled  trades,  and  that  the 
outlook  for  the  future  was  getting  increasingly  darker  because 
of  the  continual  pouring  in  of  more  boys."  (3)  The  appren- 
tice should  be  more  thoroughly  trained.  The  complaint  was 
made  that  the  employer  was  teaching  the  apprentice  only  a 
fraction  of  his  trade.  (4)  A  legal  system  ol  indenture  some- 
what modified  from  that  of  the  old  and  outgrown  system 
was  advocated.1  The  modern  system  of  training  appren- 
tices is  the  fruitage  of  the  period  since  the  close  of  the  Civil 
War  era. 

Two  very  important  reasons  may  be  given  for  the  evolution 
of  a  new  system  of  training  apprentices,     (a)  The  introducO 
tion  of  machinery  and  the  subdivision  of  labor  have  made/ 
tKeT  training  of  the  apprentices  a  burden.2     (6)  The  intro-l 
duction  of  accurate  quantitative  and  qualitative  methods  of  / 
measurement  into  all  industrial  processes,  and  the  use  of  the  \ 
blueprint  and  of  interchangeable  parts,  have  made  a  knowl-  J 
edge  of  the  rudimentary  principles  of  mathematics,  physics,/ 
and  mechanics  essential  to  the  training  of  a  skilled  workman. 
The  new  system  of  training  apprentices  coordinates  shop  and 
school  training.     The  old  apprenticeship  system  is  dead;  but 
a  new  form  is  being  evolved.     The  training  of  the  apprentice 
now  involves  the  whole  problem  of  trade  and  industrial 
education.     Dr.  Wright  came  to  the  conclusion  that  "the 

1  Wright,  Bulletin  of  United  States  Bureau  of  Education.    Whole  No.  389, 
p.  16,  1908. 

2  Discussed  in  the  section  on  apprentices  in  Chapter  VI. 


448    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

apprenticeship  system  is  a  power  to  be  reckoned  with;"  he 
declared  it  to  be  found  in  all  parts  of  the  United  States. 

Nearly  fifteen  years  ago  an  investigation  was  made  of  116 
important  American  establishments  employing  machinists. 
Out  of  the  total  number  85,  or  about  73  per  cent.,  employed 
apprentices.  In  1902  another  investigator  found  that  73 
out  of  a  total  of  112  shops  took  apprentices.  The  percentage 
of  those  taking  apprentices  was  about  65.  In  1904  the 
writer  examined  many  agreements  made  between  different 
railway  companies  and  the  International  Association  of  Ma- 
chinists; all  examined  provided  for  apprentices.  The  first 
investigator  mentioned  above  found  that  practically  every 
important  railway  shop  employed  apprentices.  A  more 
recent  study  of  apprenticeship  in  railway  shops  was  made  by 
two  representatives  of  the  New  York  Central  lines.  They 
found  that  55  railways  had  7,053  apprentices  in  368  shops, 
while  67  plants  reported  no  apprentices.  President  Howe  of 
Case  School  of  Applied  Science  ascertained,  in  1907,  that  of 
124  large  manufacturing  concerns  in  Ohio,  56  had  some  form 
of  an  apprenticeship  system.  In  most  cases  it  was  stated, 
however,  that  the  training  was  confined  to  that  which  was 
absolutely  necessary  to  the  mastery  of  their  particular  trade. 
Over  one-third  of  the  number  declared  that  they  were  not 
interested;  the  remainder  had  no  apprenticeship  system  but 
were  interested. 

Although  the  methods  employed  in  training  apprentices 
vary  considerably  in  different  shops,  at  least  two  general  types 
may  be  discerned.  In  the  jirst  type,  the  shop  and  the  school 

\  training  are  both  carried  on  directly  under  the  control  of  the 
j  employing  company.     In  the  second,  a  certain  amount  of 

\  school  training  is  required  or  expected  of  apprentices  outside 
of  working  hours;  but  the  apprentices  attend  public  schools 
or  private  schools  not  under  the  immediate  supervision  of  the 
officials  of  the  company.  The  systems  of  the  General  Electric 


INDUSTRIAL  AND  TRADE  EDUCATION  449 

Company  and  of  the  New_York  Central  lines  are  excellent 
examples  of  the  first  type,  and  the  §ystem_of  the  Baldwin 
Locomotive  Works  is  an  example  of  the  second  type. 

The  General  Electric  Company  in  its  shops  at  Lynn, 
Massachusetts,  has  established  a  very  successful  system  of 
apprenticeship.  Four  years  are  required  of  apprentices; 
graduates  of  high  schools  may  reduce  the  length  of  the  term 
by  one  year.  Apprentices  are  paid  nine  cents  per  hour  for 
the  first  year;  twelve  and  one-half  cents~7oF~the  second  year; 
fourteen  cents  for  the  third  year;  and  sixteen  cents  for  the 
fourth  year.  At  the  completion  of  the  full  term  a  bonus  of 
one  hundred  dollars  is  paid  to  the  apprentice.  For  two  years 
the  boys  are  placed  in  a  large  "training  room,"  after  which 
they  are  located  in  different  departments  of  the  factory.  In 
addition  to  the  practical  training  and  instruction  given  in  the 
shop,  educational  courses  in  academic  branches  are  provided 
by  the  company.  The  school  sessions  are  held  during  the 
working  hours;  and  the  boys  are  paid  for  the  time  spent  in  the 
school-room.  The  course  of  study  includes  arithmetic,  ele- 
mentary algebra,  mensuration,  elementary  trigonometry,  ele- 
ments of  machines,  power  transmission,  strength  of  material, 
mechanism,  elementary  electricity,  mechanical  drawing,  ma- 
chine designing,  and  jig  and  fixture  designing.  The  academic 
work  is  practical,  and  is  adapted  to  fit  the  needs  of  the 
General  Electric  Company.  The  boys  are  directly  under  the 
supervision  of  a  superintendent  of  apprentices.  The  class- 
room instruction  is  given  for  a  period  of  about  six  hours  per 
week  during  ten  months  of  the  year. 

In  the  system  inaugurated  by  the  New  York  Central  Rail- 
way Company  similar  methods  are  used;  but  practice  is 
allowed  to  precede  theory.  The  directors  of  apprentices 
"take  an  old  "steam  pump,  run  it  by  compressed  air  in  the 
school  room,  and  let  the  apprentices  see  the  way  it  works, 
take  it  apart  and  examine  into  the  valve  motion,  make  draw- 


450    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

ings  of  the  various  parts,  calculate  the  cubical  contents  of  the 
cylinders,  study  the  various  mechanism,  and  then  go  out  into 
the  shop  and  grind  the  valves.  In  other  words,  starting  with 
the  pump,  they  work  down  through  the  various  subjects  of 
arithmetic,  geometry,  mechanical  drawing,  mechanics,  etc., 
as  applied  to  the  action  of  the  pump."  The  boys  come  into 
contact  with  the  practical  work  of  the  shop  first.  The  system 
provides  for  special  instructors  of  apprentices,  for  a  company 
school  which  apprentices  are  paid  to  attend,  and  for  a  care- 
fully graded  series  of  lessons  or  exercises.  The  officials  of  this 
important  railway  system  hope  that  they  will  in  this  way 
"train  up  the  men  who  will  be  the  leaders  in  railroad  work  on 
their  lines." 

An  interesting  experiment  is  being  carried  out  by  the  engi- 
neering department  of  the  University _of jCincinnati.  "Co- 
operative courses"  are  offered  in  mechanical,  electrical,  and 
chemical  engineering.  The  work  is  so  planned  that  students 
are  engaged  alternately  in  the  engineering  college  and  in  the 
shops  of  some  manufacturing  plant  in  the  city.  One  section 
of  the  class  is  in  college  while  the  other  is  at  work  in  the  shop. 
In  this  way  the  manufacturers  have  at  all  times  a  full  force  of 
apprentices.  Six  years  are  required  to  complete  the  course. 
The  entrance  requirements  are  the  same  as  in  the  case  of  the 
regular  students.  The  students  receive  wages  for  their  shop 
work.  The  minimum  wage  is  ten  cents  per  hour. 
/  The  Baldwin  Locomotive  Works  indentures  threes-different 
classes  of  apprentices. )  Members  of  the  first  class  must  not 
be  over  sixteen  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  entrance.  A  good 
common  school  education  is  required  of  each  applicant. 
First-class  apprentices  are  required  to  attend  night  school 
three  evenings  per  week  during  three  years  of  their  apprentice- 
ship. The  term -of  apprenticeship  is  four  years.  The  wages 
per  hour  for  the  first,  second,  third,  and  fourth  years  are  five, 
seven,  nine,  and  eleven  cents  respectively.  At  the  completion 


of  the  four  years  a  bonus  of  $125  is  given  each  apprentice. 
Members  of  the  second  class  must  not  be  over  _e]ghteen-years 
of  age  at  the  time  of  entrance.  They  are  required  to  have 
completed  an  "advanced  grammar"  or  high  school  course; 
and  they  must  attend  ^nigtitTschool  for  at  least  two  years. 
Their  term  of  service  is  three  years;  at  the  end  of  that  period  a 
bonus  of  $100  is  presented  to  each  apprentice.  The  third 
Telass  is  designed  to  meet  the  needs  of  graduates  of  colleges  or 
technical  schools.  No  regular  night  school  work  is  required; 
but  the  members  of  this  class  are  asked  to  read  technical 
journals  and  to  hand  in  synopses  of  various  articles.  Members 
of  the  third  class  are  indentured  for  two  years.  They  receive 
thirteen,  sixteen,  eighteen,  and  twenty  cents  per  hour  for  the 
first,  second,  third,  and  fourth  periods  of  six  months.  The 
first  course  is  intended  to  develop  first-class  mechanics;  the 
second  fits  men  for  the  positions  of  sub-contractors  and 
foremen;  and  the  third  course  trains  men  for  still  more 
responsible  positions. 

The  carperiters_of  Chicago  have  a  very  interesting  system 
for  training  apprentices.  Recently  it  was  recognized  that  the 
all-around  carpenter,  so  familiar  a  few  decades  ago,  was  dis- 
appearing, and  that  some  formal  system  of  training  appren- 
tices was  desirable.  Both  employers  and  carpenters  were 
aware  of  the  necessity  of  a  combination  of  practical  training 
with  good  education.  A  three-cornered  agreement  was  finally 
made  between  the  building_contractors,  the  ^carpenters,  and 
the  Board  of  Education.  Contractors  employing  apprentices 
are  obligecfto  keep  them  in  school  during  the  three  slack 
months  of  the  year,  —  January,  February,  and  March.  Dur- 
ing this  period  the  apprentice  is  paid  nis  regular  waggs,  that 
is,  he  is  paid  for  school  attendance.  The  apprenticeship 
period  is  four  years,  and  the  apprentice  is  paid  from  $6  QQ 
to  $11.00  per  week.  In  1910  rooms  were  provided  in  two 
of  the  city  schools.  Regular  instructors  were  temporarily 


452 

transferred  to  these  schools  for  the  three  months.  The  boys 
are  divided  into  classes  according  to  their  ability.  Instruction 
is  given  in  reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  geography,  history, 
algebra,  geometry,  and  architectural  drawing.  Some  boys, 
instead  of  attending  the  public  schools,  enroll  at  Lewis  or 
Armour  Institute,  or  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  night  schools.  The 
apprentices  while  at  work  or  in  school  are  under  the  supervi- 
sion of  a  joinl_arbitratioaJbpard  consisting  of  five  representa- 
tives from  the  Carpenters  and  Builders'  Association  and  five 
from  the  carpenters'  executive  council,  which  represents  the 
union  carpenters  of  the  city.  An  umpire  is  selected  to  whom 
cases  may  be  referred,  if  necessary.  If  the  apprentices  do 
not  attend  school  regularly  or  do  their  school  work  in  a  satis- 
factory manner,  their  working  cards  will  be  withheld.  This 
would  mean  an  enforced  vacation  without  pay.1  The  system 
seems  to  have  several  commendable  features.  The  slack 
season  in  the  building  trades  is  profitably  utilized;  vocational 
and  academic  education  are  dovetailed  together;  and  the  public 
school  system  is  enabled  to  perform  a  function  which  properly 
belongs  to  it. 

An  arbitration  agreement  entered  into  between  the  Chicago 
Masonsjmd  Builders'  Association  and  a  union  of  bricklayers 
provides  for  three  months  of  schooling  each  year  for  appren- 
tices. An  agreement  between  the  Mason  Builders'  Associa- 
tion and  the  Bricklayers'  Union  of  Boston  and  vicinity 
provides  that  apprentices  must  b£  able  to  read  and  write  Eng- 
lish. Mention  is  made  as  to  the  desirability  of  educating  the 
apprentice,  particularly  in  the  strength  of  materials  and  the 
science  of  construction.  Both  parties  agreed  to  unite  in  an 
effort  to  establish  a  school  for  members  of  the  trade.  From 
a  consideration  of  these  examples  of  apprenticeship  systems, 
it  is  evident  that  a  successful  system  involves,  in  the  eyes  of 
both  employers  and  employees,  more  than  the  knowledge  that 

1  Roat,  The  Chicago  Tribune,  March  27,  1910. 


INDUSTRIAL  AND  TRADE  EDUCATION  453 

can  be  "picked  up"  in  the  shop.  The  best  apprentice,  the 
one  who  gives  promise  of  becoming  a  skilled  and  efficient 
worker,  is  a  student  as  well  as  a  worker. 

In  certain  trades  or  occupations  in  which  the  safety,  health, 
and  general  welfare  of  the  workers  or  of  the  general  public 
are  quite  directly  dependent  upon  the  efficiency  and  skill  of 
the  operators,  the  government,  acting  under  the  police  power 
of  the  state,  has  passed  laws  regulating  and  restricting  employ- 
ment, and  requiring  that  these  trades  shall  not  be  practised 
except  by  properly  qualified  persons.  The  federal  govern- 
ment and  about  three-fourths  of  the  states  have  enacted  laws 
requiring  the  examination  and  licensing  of  persons  practising 
various  trades.  Among  the  occupations  are  those  of  barbers, 
horseshoers,  plumbers,  stationary  firemen  and  engineers, 
steam  and  street  railway  employees,  and  certain  classes  of 
mine  workers.  These  requirements,  which  possibly  grow  out 
of  the  decay  of  the  apprenticeship  system,  increase  the  demand 
for  school  training.  In  some  respects  this  tendency  appears 
to  be  a  recrudescence  of  the  old  method  of  granting  a  monop- 
oly to  those  who  have  attained  a  certain  proficiency.  If  the 
state  establishes  a  minimum  requirement  for  entrance  into 
certain  trades,  it  is  certainly  the  duty  of  the  public  school 
authorities  to  offer  adequate  opportunities  for  obtaining  the 
legally  requisite  knowledge  and  training. 

Trade  Schools.  ^The  trade  school  is  a  modern  substitute  for 
the  apprenticeship  system.)  In  its  simplest  and  original 
form  the  trade  school  merely  tries  to  perform  the  functions  of 
the  old  apprenticeship  system.  In  the  typical  trade  school 
of  the  older  type  the  student  spends  nearly  all  of  his  time  in 
the  workshop.  Skill  in  his  chosen  craft  is  the  sole  end  and 
aim.  The  more  recently  established  trade  schools  are  length- 
ening the  period  of  instruction  and  are  aiming  to  give  their 
graduates  a  broader  training,  —  something  more  than  a  purely 
te^hnicjU_J;raiiiing.  The  earlier  trades  schools  were  private 


454    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

schools.  Today  it  is  coming  to  be  recognized  that  trade  or 
vocational  instruction  should  be  given  students  in  the  public 
schools.  Organized  labor  is  insisting  that  practical  and  vo- 
cational education  as  well  as  cultural  education  should  be 
furnished  in  our  public  schools. 

The  oldest  and  perhaps  the  best  representative  of  the  orig- 
inal type  of  American  trade  schools  is  theiNew  YorkJJYade 
School. )  It  was  founded  in  1881  by  the  late  Col.  R.  T.  Auch- 
muty.  This  school  is  said  to~TSe  one  of  the  largest  and  best 
equipped  trade  schools  in  this  country.  The  cost  of  land, 
buildings,  and  equipment  was  about  $300,0x30,  and  the  cost  of 
maintenance  is  between  $30,000  and  $40,000  per  year.  Even- 
ing and  day  classes  are  conducted.  Day  classes  are  conducted 
for  four  months.  Instruction  is  given  daily  from  8.30  A.M. 
to  4  P.M.  A  young  man  possessing  mechanical  aptitude  and 
a  common  school  education  can  usually  complete  the  work  in 
one  term.  The  evening  classes  extend  over  a  period  of  six 
months,  meeting  three  or  four  times  each  week.  Two  to 
four  terms  are  necessary  to  complete  the  required  work.  The 
founder  of  the  school  believed  that  a  combination  of  the 
school  and  the  shop  was  necessary  to  train  skilled  workers 
under  modern  conditions.  The  method  used  is  known  as  the 
"Auchmuty  system."  "At  first  the  student  is  put  on  work 
that  is  simple,  but  as  skill  and  workmanlike  use  of  tools  are 
acquired,  he  is  advanced  to  work  that  is  more  difficult  and 
complicated,  until  he  is  made  familiar  with  the  various 
branches  of  his  trade."  Emphasis  is  laid  upon  actual  prac- 
tice, and  comparatively  little  attention  is  paid  to  theoretical 
or  scientific  training.  The  instructors  are  skilled  mechanics. 

The  Wilmerding  School  of  Industrial  Arts  of  San  Fran- 
cisco and  the  Williamson  Free  School  of  Mechanical  Trades, 
located  near  Philadelphia,  are  good  examples  of  the~ne~wer  and. 
broader  type  of  private  trade  schools.  The  latter  institution 
opened  its  doors  in  1891.  Since  that  time  it  has  graduated 


INDUSTRIAL  AND  TRADE  EDUCATION  455 

between  70x3  and  800  students,  —  bricklayers,  carpenters, 
stationary  engineers,  machinists,  and  pattern  makers.  The 
twenty-four  buildings  are  located  upon  a  campus  of  230 
acres.  Only  young  men  between  the  ages  of  sixteen  to  eight- 
een years  inclusive  are  admitted.  "Candidates  are  required 
to  pass  scholastic,  moral,  and  physical  examinations,  and  only 
those  are  accepted  who  are  able-bodied,  moral,  intelligent, 
and  possessed  of  natural  aptitude  for  mechanical  pursuits." 
Only  a  limited  number  are  admitted,  and  only  those  who 
expect  to  earn  a  livelihood  from  the  trade  taught  them. 
Tuition,  board,  clothing,  etc.,  are  free.  The  school  is  in 
session  for  eight  hours  per  day  for  five  days  in  the  week;  on 
Saturday,  three  hours  of  work  are  required.  During  the 
first  year  each  student  spends  about  one-half  of  the  time  in 
the  shop.  After  the  first  year  the  amount  of  shop  work  is 
increased. 

The  Wilmerding  School  was  established  "to  teach  boys 
trades,  fitting  them  to  make  a  living  with  their  hands  with 
little  study  and  plenty  of  work."  This  school  was  opened  in 
1899.  It  has  well  equipped  shops,  and  directs  its  attention 
chiefly  to  the  building  trades.  The  course  requires  four 
years  of  work.  Tuition  is  free;  and  any  boy  who  has  com- 
pleted the  grammar  school  may  be  admitted.  The  instruct- 
ors in  the  academic  department  are  college  graduates,  and 
the  shop  instructors  are  skilled  artisans.  It  "is  intended  that 
the  graduates  of  the  school  shall  be  well-instructed  workmen 
in  the  trades  which  they  select,  and  intelligent  citizens." 
The  Williamson  and  the  Wilmerding  schools  recognize  that 
the  workingman  ought  to  be  an  intelligent  citizen  as  well  as 
an_artisan.  Both  emphasize  the  idea  that  the  artisan  needs 
a  broader  and  more  thorough  training  than  can  be  given  by 
means  of  a  short  and  purely  practical  course  of  instruction. 

Xcw  York  and  Wisconsin  have  taken  the  lead  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  trade  schools  as  an  integral  part  of  the  tax-sup- 


456    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

ported  public  school  system.  The  City  of  Philadelphia  also 
has  a  trade  school  which  is  an  integral  part  of  the  city  school 
system.  A  New  York  law  provides  for  the  establishment  of 
industrial  schools  for  pupils  who  have  reached  the  age  of  four- 
teen years,  and  for  the  establishment  of  trade  schools  for 
pupils  who  are  sixteen  years  old.  Each  school  is  to  be  under 
the  control  of  the  local  board  of  education;  but  an  advisory 
board  is  provided  for,  to  be  composed  of  representatives  from 
the  local  trades  and  industries.  These  schools  are  to  provide 
for  three  classes  of  students:  (a)  Those  who  are  not  obliged 
to  work,  (b)  those  who  must  work  a  portion  of  the  time,  and 
(c)  those  who  can  only  attend  school  at  night.  Rochester 
was  the  first  city  to  establish  a  school  under  this  act.  The 
school  was  opened  in  December,  1908. 

The  Milwaukee  School  of  Trades  is  maintained  by  a  special 
tax  levy.  Free  tuition  is  offered  to  residents  sixteen  to 
twenty  years  of  age.  Courses  are  offered  in  pattern  making, 
machine  work  and  tool  making,  carpentry  and  wood  work, 
plumbing  and  gas  fitting.  The  length  of  the  course  is  two 
years  of  fifty-two  weeks  each  year  and  forty-four  hours  per 
week,  except  in  the  plumbing  trade  which  only  requires  one- 
half  of  the  time.  Night  classes  are  held  for  persons  actually 
engaged  in  the  trades.  "It  is  not  the  purpose  of  the  school 
that  its  graduates  shall  merely  be  skilled  artisans ;  it  is  intended 
that  they  shall  be  not  only  trained  and  efficient,  but  intelli- 
gent workmen,  desirous  of  making  the  most  out  of  themselves 
in  their  chosen  vocation  from  its  every  viewpoint."  The 
Philadelphia  Trades  School  registered  its  first  students  in 
September,  1906.  It  was  at  first  proposed  to  offer  instruction 
in  thirteen  trades;  but  on  account  of  the  lack  of  demand  for 
instruction  in  certain  trades,  the  number  actually  offered  was 
reduced  to  six,  —  carpentry,  architectural  drawing,  mechani- 
cal drawing,  electrical__coristruction,  pattern -making,  and 
printing.  The  school  is  in  session  during  the  school  year  from 


INDUSTRIAL    AND    TRADE    EDUCATION  457 

9  to  12  A.M.  and  from  12.30  to  3.30  P.M.  During  the  school 
year  of  1906-1907  the  average  enrolment  was  45;  1907-1908, 
125;  1908-1909,  225.  The  average  age  of  students  is  sixteen 
and  one-half  years.  Evening  trade  classes  have  also  been 
established,  but  no  academic  instruction  is  given  in  those 
classes. 

It  is  highly  desirable  and  important  that  our  public  schools 
take  up  the  task  of  teaching  trades.  The  public  school 
system  in  a  democracy  should  prepare  workers  for  all  the 
walks  and  duties  of  life.  Public  industrial  schools  may, 
indeed,  prove  to  be  "  the  twentieth  century  substitute  for  free 
land."  If  the  government  was  justified  in  donating  a  home- 
stead to  the  actual  settler,  surely  it  is  now  justified  in  offering, 
free  of  tuition,  a  good,  practical  training  of  mind,  body,  and 
hands,  in  offering  to  prepare  the  youth  of  all  classes  for  lives  of 
useful  endeavor.  A  fundamental  difficulty  in  connection  with 
trade  instruction  is  "found  in  the  great  diversity  of  trades,  each 
of  which  would  require  a  separate  school"  or  at  least  many 
separate  classes.  However,  certain  elements  of  likeness  can 
be  found  underlying  many  apparently  dissimilar  trades. 

In  New  England  and  the  South  many  textile  schools  are 
found.  This  is  a  comparatively  recent  form  of  trade  school. 
Among  other  special  forms  of  trade  schools  may  be  mentioned 
brewing  schools,  schools  for  barbers,  dairy  schools,  schools 
of  photograghy,  schools  for  watchmakers  and  engravers,  and 
various  schools  of  millinery  and  dressmaking.  Of  the  latter 
the  Manhattan  TV^Hp  Srhnnl  for  Girls  and  the  Boston  Trade 


Schoojjor  Girls  are  perhaps  the  most  important.  The  former 
was  opened  in  November,  1902.  Girls  are  usually  received  at 
fourteen  years  of  age.  They  remain  in  the  school  for  one  year; 
but  the  school  authorities  aim  to  keep  track  of  them  for  some 
time  after  they  leave  the  institution.  The  tuition  is  free. 
The  academic  work  is  reduced  to  a  minimum.  The  products 
of  the  school  are  usable  and  salable;  and  the  school  derives 


458    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

some  revenue  from  the  sale  of  the  articles  produced  by  the 
students.  A  gymnasium  is  found  in  the  building,  and  consid- 
erable attention  is  given  to  instruction  in  physical  training 
and  in  personal  hygiene.  On  January  i,  1907,  184  girls  were 
connected  with  the  school.  The  Boston  Trade  School  for 
Girls  was  originally  a  private  institution;  but  it  is  now  a  part 
of  the  Boston  public  school  system.  "It  tries  to  reach  girls 
who  leave  the  grammar  school  as  soon  as  the  compulsory 
school  attendance  is  completed.  By  training  them  to  enter 
the  skilled  trades  of  dressmaking,  millinery,  clothing-machine 
operating,  and  straw  hat  making,  it  aims  to  keep  them  out  of 
unskilled  occupations,  where  there  is  no  chance  for  advance- 
ment and  where  mental,  moral,  and  physical  deterioration  is 
almost  certain."  The  aim  of  the  Manhattan  school  is  much 
narrower  than  that  of  the  Boston  institution.  The  latter 
definitely  aims  to  unite  the  school  and  the  shop. 

Industrial  Education.  Manual  training  was  first  introduced 
into  our  high  schools  and  halfgradually  worked  its  way  down- 
ward into  the  grades.  The  purpose  of  manual  training,  as 
such,  is  pedagogical  rather  than  vocational;  but  the  introduc- 
tion of  this  work  into  the  ward  and  high  schools  of  our  cities 
provides  an  excellent  foundation  for  vocational  training. 
The  first  American  manual  training  high  school  was  opened 
/  in  St.  Louis  in  iSSi.^A  more  recent  development  is  the 
"technical  high  school."  The  technical  high  school  empha- 
sizes vocational  training  in  a  much  larger  measure  than  does 
the  manual  training  high  school.  Its  distinct  purpose  is  the 
preparation  of  "its  pupils  for  industrial  leadership,  —  that 
is,  for  positions  in  Industrial  life  requiring  skill  and  technical 
knowledge,  and  of  greater  importance  and  responsibility  than 
those  of  skilled  mechanics."  The  jCleYeiand-Terhnical  High 
School  is  one  of  the  best  examples  of  this  type  of  school.  The 
school  is  open  to  both  boys  and  girls.  The  course  is  Jour 
years  in  length.  The  first  two  years  are  devoted  to  manual 


INDUSTRIAL  AND  TRADE  EDUCATION  459 

training  and  "general  industrial  intelligence."  Upon  com- 
pleting the  work  of  the  first  two  years,  the  student  is  expected 
to  select  a  trade.  The  trades  offered  in  1909  were  cabinet 
making,  pattern  making  and  foundry  practice,  machine-shop 
practice,  architectural  and  mechanical  drawing,  printing  and 
bookbinding,  pottery,  and  applied  design  millinery,  catering 
and  cooking.  The  school  is  in  session  forty-eight  weeks  in 
the  year.  Evening  classes  for  workers  in  different  trades  are 
also  conducted. 

Correspondence  and  Night  Schools.  Only  a  small  fraction 
of  the  boys  and  girls  of  our  country  graduate  from  high  school. 
Many  leave  school  and  go  into  industry  at  an  early  age.  The 
public  school  stands  ready  to  help  the  boy  or  girl  who  is  not 
obliged  to  work  at  an  early  age;  but  the  benefits  of  free  public 
instruction  are  rarely  offered  the  young  worker.  Many  of 
these  workers  are  aware  of  the  desirability  of  more  instruc- 
tion and  training,  but  the  school  door  swings  shut  before  the 
day's  work  in  shop,  store,  or  office  is  completed.  Our  public 
school  authorities  apparently  overlook  the  needs  of  the  young 
wage  earner.  We  have  the  buildings  and  the  equipment;  but 
in  nearly  all  the  cities  the  school  property  is  unused  during 
the  latter  part  of  the  afternoon  and  during  the  evening. 
Private  agencies  —  the  private  night  school,  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
night  school,  and  the  correspondence  school — have  come  into 
being  to  supply  a  demand  for  practical  or  vocational  training 
which  unfortunately  our  public  schools  rarely  attempt  to 
fill.  These  institutions  are  more  or  less  successfully  and 
faithfully  offering  trade,  industrial,  scientific,  and  commercial 
education  to  the  ambitious  young  wage  earners.  The  contin- 
uation school  for  young  workers,  and,  if  necessary,  corre- 
spondence instruction  should  be  provided  as  an  integral  part 
of  our  public  school  work.  The  University  of  Wisconsin  aims 
to  give  instruction  to  "anybody,  anywhere,  anytime."  This 
should  be  the  mission  of  our  public  educational  system  which 


460    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

reaches  from  the  kindergarten  to  the  graduate  and  pro- 
fessional courses  of  the  state  university.  Under  present 
conditions  in  industry  —  the  long  working  day  and  the 
high  tension  under  which  many  labor  —  many  workers  are 
unfitted  for  night  school  instruction.  With  the  introduction 
of  an  eight-  or  a  nine-hour  day,  the  force  of  this  objection  to 
night  instruction  is  diminished.  If  the  custom  of  allowing  a 
half -holiday  each  week  is  generally  adopted,  another  oppor- 
tunity for  school  work  is  offered.  A  square  deal  in  the  matter 
of  education  means  an  opportunity  for  vocational  and  cul- 
tural training  for  all  young  persons,  whether  wage  earners  or 
not.  It  is  an  unjustifiable  discrimination  to  oblige  the  young 
worker  to  pay  tuition  to  a  private  school  in  order  to  obtain 
the  kind  of  training  which  is  valuable  to  him  as  a  wage  earner 
and  a  craftsman.  No  educational  system  which  does  not 
reach  the  young  toiler  as  well  as  those  who  are  not  forced  into 
industry  at  an  early  age  is  worthy  of  a  high  rank  in  the 
present  era. 

The  Conflict  of  Ideals  in  Regard  to  Industrial  Education. 
The  chief  standards  for  the  measurement  of  educational 
values  are  four  in  number  —  practical,  cultural,  psychologi- 
cal, and  social.  The  practical  standard  is  important  because 
of  the  demand  for  trained  and  efficient  workers  in  business 
and  professional  life.  Commercial,  trade,  industrial,  agricul- 
tural, and  professional  training  are  grouped  under  the  head  of 
practical  educatrortr  -Today  the  emphasis  is  placed  upon 
trade  and  commercial  education;  but  professional  training  for 
the  law,  theology,  medicine,  and  pedagogy  was  in  former 
generations  the  most  important  of  the  practical  work  of  the 
educational  system. 

The  prestige  which  still  surrounds  the  cultural  and  classical 

(   form  of  education  is  purely  traditional,  and  is  based  in  a  large 

)  measure  upon  class  prejudice.     The  cultural  form  of  modern 

education  was  formerly  the  practical;  it  was  once  a  part  of  the 


INDUSTRIAL  AND  TRADE   EDUCATION  461 

/necessary  training  of  the  professional  man.    By  a  curious, 
1  but  not  unusual,  process  of  slow  evolution  it  is  now  esteemed 
J  because  it  bestows  upon  its  possessors  ideals  and  mannerisms 
/  which  are  distinctly  opposite  to  those  of  present  day  practical 
/  education.     Modern  cultural  or  classical  training  is  an  out- 
grown, out-of-date  form  of  practical  education.     The  effect 
of  such  training  is  to  carry  old  ideals,  habits  of  thought,  and 
class  demarcations  down  into  modern  industrial  society.     It 
leads  to  conservatism  and  tends  to  focus  the  mind  upon 
\  problems  which  do  not  directly  and  vitally  touch  modern 
complex  life. 

Modern  psychological  study  and  investigation  show  that 
a  certain  variety  and  sequence  of  training  are  necessary  in 
order  that  each  and  every  individual  may  develop  his  maxi- 
mum mental  and  manual  ability.  The  psychological  demand 
is  for  a  well  rounded  development  of  the  student.  The  social 
criterion  for  educational  efficiency  is  based  upon  the  demo- 
cratic demand  for  good  citizenship  and  for  racial  efficiency. 
It  places  a  high  valuation  upon  that  which  tends  to  break 
down  class  demarcation,  to  reduce  artificial  inequality,  and 
to  uplift  the  human  race  as  a  whole. 

Business  interests  are  emphasizing  the  importance  of  the 
purely  practical  standard.  They  wish  the  students  in  our 
public  schools  to  be  equipped  to  fit  into  some  definite  place 
in  the  factory,  store,  or  office.  The  ideal  for  all,  except  a  few 
skilled  workers,  seems  to  be  a  plodding,  unthinking,  and  nar- 
rowly trained  wage  earner.  The  ideal  is  a  piece  of  human 
mechanism  or  a  "human  ox."  The  so-called  educational 
and  social  reformers  and  the  leaders  and  thinkers  among 
organized  labor  are  urging  the  importance  of  the  psychologi- 
cal and  social  demands.  These  interests  stand  firmly  for 
the  view  that  the  school  system  of  today  is  for  the  training  of 
thinking,  as  well  as  of  working,  men  and  women.  Organized 
labor  demands  that  the  vocational  training  of  the  schools 


462     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

shall  "make  the  apprentice  or  graduate  a  skilled  craftsman 
in  all  branches  of  his  trade."  They  also  object  to  "  condi- 
tions which  educate  the  student  or  apprentice  to  non-union 
sympathy  and  prepare  him  as  a  skilled  worker  for  scab 
labor  and  strike-breaking  purposes,  thus  using  the  children 
of  the  workers  against  the  interests  of  their  organized  fathers 
and  brothers  in  the  various  crafts."  In  short,  organized 
labor  demands  vocational  education  in  the  public  schools 
and  under  the  direct  control  of  the  public  school  authorities. 
They  object  to  anything  which  savors  of  control  or  supervi- 
sion by  employers  of  labor.  The  antagonism  between  the 
adherents  of  the  social  and  of  the  practical  educational  stand- 
ards is  very  noticeable.  The  university  and  the  college  have 
not  been  free  from  influences  which  would  restrict  the  work 
of  investigation  and  bias  the  teaching  of  these  institutions.1 
The  United  States  is  now  standing  near  the  forks  in  the 
educational  road.  Fundamentally,  the  problem  is  one  of  edu- 
cational and  social  ideals  and  values.  Organized  labor  has 
much  at  stake;  and  recent  events  indicate  that  the  problems 
centering  around  vocational  training  will  not  be  neglected 
by  our  labor  organizations. 


REFERENCES   FOR  FURTHER  READING 

Wright,  "The  Apprenticeship  System  in  its  Relation  to  Industrial 
Education."  Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Education.  Whole  No.  389  (1908). 

The  Seventeenth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor.  "Trade  and 
Technical  Education." 

Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor.  No.  54:  1369-1417.  "Trade  and 
Technical  Education  in  the  United  States." 

Commons,  Trade  Unionism  and  Labor  Problems.     Ch.  13. 

Carlton,  Education  and  Industrial  Evolution.     Chs.  10,  n,  12,  and  15. 

Report  of  the  Massachusetts  Bureau  of  Statistics  of  Labor  (1906). 

1  See,  for  example,  an  article  by  President  Van  Hise  in  LaFollelte's  Maga- 
zine, July  2,  1910. 


INDUSTRIAL    AND    TRADE    EDUCATION  463 

Report  of  the  Committee  on  Industrial  Education.  American  Federa- 
tion of  Labor  (1910). 

Report  of  the  Committee  on  the  Place  of  Industries  in  Public  Education, 
National  Education  Association  (1910). 

"Industrial  Education,"  Annals  of  the  American  Academy  of  Political 
and  Social  Science.  January,  1909. 

Reports  of  the  Massachusetts  Commission  on  Industrial  Education. 

Elliott,  "Summary  of  Legislation  Concerning  Industrial  Education," 
Bulletin  of  the  American  Association  for  Labor  Legislation  (1909). 

Stephens,  "The  New  Apprenticeship,"  Journal  of  Political  Economy. 
Vol.  19:  26-35. 

Bolen,  Getting  A  Living.     Ch.  n. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

RECENT    TENDENCIES 

The  Significance  of  Industrial  Unionism.  The  future  status 
of  labor  organizations  will  depend  upon  industrial  and  politi- 
cal progress.  The  trend  of  events  in  the  past  and  present 
may  furnish  aid  in  discerning  in  a  general  way  the  direction 
in  which  we  are  moving.  A  study  of  industrial  and  social 
evolution  provides  some  reasonable  foundation  for  a  tentative 
discussion  of  the  present  tendencies  affecting  the  relations 
existing  between  labor,  capital,  and  the  general  public.  -  The 
evolution  of  political  authority  since  the  fall  of  the  Roman 
Empire  has  been  carefully  studied  by  historians  and  publicists. 
Lagging  behind  in  the  shadow  of  this  development  is  a  some- 
what similar  transformation  in  industrial  affairs.  The  latter 
movement  is  less  spectacular,  and  up  to  recent  times  has  never 
attracted  much  attention.  In  their  political  evolution  the 
most  progressive  Western  nations  have  passed  from  ex- 
ploitative, barbarian-warrior  control  to  absolute  centralized 
management,  on  to  the  admission  of  the  commercial  and 
manufacturing  interests  to  participation  in  governmental  func- 
tions, to  the  use  of  the  constitutional  form  of  government,  and 
finally  to  the  modern  democracy  with  its  broad  suffrage 
provisions.  A  similar  evolution  may  be  traced  in  the  realm 
of  religion  and  in  the  family  life.  (The  industrial  world  is  the 
last  stronghold  of  the  despotic  principleS 

The  days  of  the  mercantile  system  and  the  preceding  epochs 
may  be  said  to  constitute  the  ancient  industrial  world.  The 
gild  system,  with  its  master  workmen,  journeymen,  and 
apprentices,  was  a  sort  of  industrial  feudalism.  Gunpowder 

464 


RECENT    TENDENCIES  465 

was  fatal  to  the  feudal  regime;  and  the  steam  engine  doomed 
industrial  feudalism.  After  incessant  struggles  political 
feudalism  finally  gave  way  to  the  centralized  autocracy  typi- 
fied by  Louis  XIV  and  Frederick  the  Great.  In  the  industrial 
world,  after  the  advent  of  the  wonder-working  steam  engine, 
multitudes  of  small,  competing  businesses  of  short  and  un- 
certain life  are  found.  A  period  of  speculation,  fierce  compe- 
tition, personal  rivalry,  and  economic  uncertainty  followed. 
Gradually,  with  more  or  less  friction  evinced  by  strikes,  agi- 
tations, and  so-called  reform  movements,  conditions  became 
more  and  more  stable;  some  enterprises  grew  larger,  others, 
ruined  or  absorbed,  disappeared.  The  large  corporation, 
commonly  called  the  trust,  rose  above  the  business  horizon, 
and  the  market  area  expanded  until  its  eastern  and  western 
frontiers  met  in  the  Orient  and  the  Pacific  isles.  Business 
concerns  are  no  longer  ephemeral;  they  continue  from  genera- 
tion to  generation.  Business  is  now  placed  upon  a  firm  and 
calculable  basis;  the  traditional  rule-of -thumb  methods  and 
blind  optimism  have  vanished.  The  economic  middle  ages 
are  left  behind,  and  the  period  of  industrial  nationalism  is  at 
hand.  Strongly  centralized  absolutism  in  industry  is  now  a 
characteristic  of  the  business  world.  Vanderbilt's  famous 
utterance  is  but  a  paraphrase  of  that  more  famous  dictum  of 
Louis  XIV.  The  captains  of  industry  are  the  industrial 
analogues  of  the  enlightened  despots  in  the  political  world 
of  the  eighteenth  century. 

The  kings  of  the  Middle  Ages  and  of  the  early  portion  of 
the  modern  period  considered  their  possessions  and  peoples  as 
a  large  estate  to  be  worked  purely  and  solely  for  the  benefit  of 
the  royal  few;  during  the  similar  period  in  the  industrial  evo- 
lution of  the  Western  nations  the  heads  of  business  enter- 
prises look  solely  to  their  own  profits.  In  the  first  case,  the 
view  that  government  is  for  the  welfare  of  the  governed  was 
not  attained;  in  the  other,  the  idea  that  business  should  be 


466    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

carried  on  for  the  benefit  of  men  in  their  double  capacity  of 
workers  and  consumers  has  not  found  a  firm  foothold.  Faint 
glimpses  of  emergence  from  industrial  absolutism  are  noticed 
in  factory  legislation,  child  labor  laws,  pure  food  bills,  the 
demand  for  governmental  regulation  of  trusts  and  for  gov- 
ernmental arbitration  in  labor  disputes.  Gradually  in  the 
political  world  the  masses  of  the  people  wrested  authority 
from  the  hands  of  the  kings,  and  constitutional  forms  of 
government  were  established.  The  king  was  no  longer  the 
state,  and  the  kingdom  his  private  estate.  The  kings  in 
their  opposition  to  the  feudal  lords  fostered  the  commercial 
and  industrial  classes  which  later  stripped  the  former  of  much 
of  their  authority;  and  the  foreshadowing  of  a  similar  phe- 
nomenon may  easily  be  recognized  in  the  industrial  field  in 
recent  decades.  The  autocratic  monarch  of  the  fifteenth, 
sixteenth,  or  seventeenth  centuries  was  able  to  build  his 
governmental  structure  by  undermining  the  strength  of  the 
feudal  barons;  the  modern  captains  of  industry  have  forced 
the  small  capitalists  to  the  wall  and  have  reared  their  pow- 
erful industrial  edifices  upon  the  ruins  of  many  small  con- 
cerns. The  trust  has  triumphed  over  the  small  business;  but 
in  so  doing  it  has  multiplied  the  number  of  wage  earners 
and  has  improved  their  quality.  Multitudes  who  under 
former  conditions  would  have  eagerly  looked  forward  to  busi- 
ness careers  as  entrepreneurs  must  now  be  content  with 
the  more  prosaic  positions  offered  the  employees  of  large 
corporations.  The  fact  that  workers  cannot,  with  a  few  con- 
spicuous exceptions,  become  employers  is  cementing  them 
together,  and  will  give  them  power  to  prevent  encroachments 
upon  what  is  conceived  to  be  their  rights.  Changed  eco- 
nomic conditions  are  forcing  certain  classes  of  technical  and 
professional  workers  into  unionism  or  into  an  attitude  favor- 
able to  union  action.  For  example,  the  tendency  toward 
commercialization  of  school  management  is  forcing  "union- 


RECENT  TENDENCIES  467 

ization"  of  the  school  teachers  in  self-defense.  Centralization 
of  power  and  of  wealth  in  the  industrial  field  is  building  up 
opposition  to  itself  in  obedience  to  the  law  that  action  and 
reaction  are  equal  and  opposite  hi  direction.  Trusts  and 
large  corporations  reduce  the  relative  number  of  employers 
and  small  business  men,  and  increase  the  relative  number 
of  employees.  The  latter  band  together  and,  as  labor  organ- 
izations, demand  a  larger  share  of  the  increased  earnings 
due  to  the  economy  of  large-scale  industry.  The  captain 
of  industry  will  probably  share  the  fate  of  the  autocratic 
monarch.  The  Louis  XIV  view  of  business  is  being  gradually 
replaced  by  the  democratic  constitutional  form.  The  em- 
ployee and  the  general  public  are  being  gradually  admitted 
into  the  councils  of  industry.  A  manager  may  no  longer 
do  exactly  as  he  pleases  in  business  management.  The 
industrial  world  is  actually  emerging,  as  did  the  political 
world,  from  its  era  of  autocracy. 

Union  men  assert  that  they  have  the  right  to  be  factors 
in  fixing  the  conditions  under  which  they  shall  labor.  They 
are  demanding  a  measure  of  self-rule  and  self-direction  in  the 
industrial  world.  The  general  public  is  extending  its  control 
over  the  industrial  field  by  means  of  legislation  and  by  means 
of  judicial  decisions  which  extend  the  police  power  of  the 
state.  A  dim  and  indistinct  ideal  of  a  form  of  industrial 
democracy  is  beginning  to  be  outlined  in  public  opinion.  The 
occasional  pronunciamentos  of  certain  employers  sound  to 
many  almost  medieval  in  tone.  "There  is  nothing  to  arbi- 
trate," "We  intend  to  be  masters  in  our  own  houses,"  and 
"  It  is  regrettable  that  our  workpeople  are  able  to  change  their 
positions  at  any  time,"  sound  strangely  in  the  ears  of  the 
average  man  and  woman  of  today.  Exactly  as  our  fore- 
fathers sought  to  break  down  absolutism  in  government,  the 
labor  unions  of  today  seek  through  governmental  interference 
and  organized  strength  to  break  down  absolutism  in  the 


468    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

industrial  sphere.  The  significance  of  the  present  struggles 
between  labor  and  capital  is  only  clearly  seen  when  looked  at 
from  this  point  of  view. 

A  movement  fraught  with  great  significance  for  our  nat- 
ional life  and  our  industrial  progress  is  the  rise  and  growth  of 
industrial  unions.  These  organizations  must  be  carefully 
distinguished  from  the  older  and  better  known  trade  unions 
which  were  modeled  in  some  measure  after  the  fashion  of  the 
English  unions.  In  the  industrial  union  the  unskilled  man  - 
the  man  who  tends  the  machine  or  who  works  in  the  gang, 
the  wage  earner  who  is  known  by  his  number  —  comes  to  the 
front.  The  unskilled  man  is  an  interchangeable  link  in  a 
gigantic  industrial  chain;  his  work  approximates  that  of  the 
machine,  and  from  time  to  time  the  machine  does  encroach 
upon  his  round  of  duty.  The  skilled  man  or  artisan  is  dis- 
tinguished by  greater  individuality  and  personal  initiative. 
While  the  tendency  in  recent  times  is  in  many  cases,  particu- 
larly among  the  lower  ranks  of  the  skilled,  toward  uniform- 
ity of  work  and  wage,  we  may  yet  distinguish  more  or  less 
clearly  between  the  two.  Le  Bon,  the  French  sociologist, 
distinguishes  between  these  two  classes  in  a  striking  manner. 
"The  artisan  advances  only  by  merit,  the  employe  by  seniority. 
The  employe  is  only  of  significance  through  the  whole  of  which 
he  is  a  part.  The  artisan  represents  a  unit  having  a  value  of 
itself."  The  psychology  of  the  two  classes  is  different.  The 
trade  union  is  dominated  by  the  skilled  man;  but  the  new 
industrial  unionism  places  the  key  to  the  situation  in  the 
hands  of  the  unskilled.  Professor  Veblen  asserts  that  all 
those  engaged  in  modern  industrial  or  scientific  work  are 
especially  liable  to  be  affected  by  socialistic  sentiments;  but 
the  feeling  of  solidarity  is  stronger  among  the  unskilled  than 
among  the  skilled.  When  the  labor  unions  succumb  to  the 
leadership  of  the  unskilled,  as  inevitably  they  must,  a  new 
era  in  unionism  will  be  just  ahead;  and  its  results  may  indeed 


RECENT  TENDENCIES  469 

be  momentous.  Such  a  change  will  be  nothing  less  than  the 
natural  and  logical  result  of  the  steadily  increasing  standard- 
ization of  industry  and  the  minute  subdivision  of  labor  with 
its  accompanying  increase  in  the  number  of  the  unskilled 
which  the  census  reports  so  plainly  and  unmistakably 
indicate.1 

With  the  standardization,  unification,  and  centralization  of 
industry  comes  the  possibility  of  bureaucratic  control.  Rou- 
tine and  red-tape  begin  to  replace  experimentation  and  indi- 
vidual initiative.  The  number  of  the  unskilled  increases,  and 
the  skilled  begin  to  advance  by  seniority  rather  than  by  merit. 
Business  methods  begin  to  savor  of  the  tread-mill  and  the 
lock-step.  Business  and  industrial  life,  from  bottom  to  top, 
tends  to  lose  the  charm  of  freshness  and  unexpectedness 
which  formerly  characterized  it.  With  this  change  in  indus- 
trial and  business  procedure  and  with  the  reduction  in  the 
length  of  the  working  day  comes  a  modification  in  the  use  of 
leisure  time.  Now  arise  the  cheap  theater,  the  nickelodeon, 
physical  culture,  the  yellow  newspaper  with  its  sensationalism, 
the  Coney  Islands,  the  club,  the  new  status  of  woman,  and 
modern  socialism.  The  development  of  the  play  side  of  our 
nature  suddenly  attracts  nation-wide  attention.  Our  surplus 
energy  —  the  desire  for  sensation,  change,  excitement  — 
should  be  turned  into  other  channels  than  those  which  lead 
to  sensuality  and  debauchery.  This  can  only  be  done  by 
broadening  the  interests  of  the  masses  of  the  people,  by  op- 
posing the  narrowed  industrial  and  home  life  with  the  love  of 
art,  athletics,  political  affairs,  literary  studies,  and  the  like. 
The  rise  of  the  industrial  union  is  the  naming  signal  which 
informs  the  nation  that  a  new  industrial  situation  confronts  it. 

Adult  male  suffrage  in  the  United  States  was  achieved 
principally  by  the  men  of  the  frontier  and  the  workers  in  the 

1  For  a  different  interpretation,  see  Ely,  Outlines  of  Economics  (revised 
edition),  pp.  133-134. 


470    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

newly-born  industrial  cities,  —  men  who  were  diametrically 
opposed  in  interests  and  views  of  life  to  the  aristocratic  con- 
servatives and  trained  political  leaders  of  Massachusetts  and 
Virginia.  The  movement  in  the  industrial  field  will  come, 
not  from  the  skilled  men  who  stand  close  to  the  leaders  and 
directors  of  our  industries,  but  from  that  industrial  frontiers- 
man, the  unskilled  or  common  workman.  He  is  beginning  to 
understand  the  value  of  unionism;  solidarity  is  becoming  con- 
crete and  tangible  to  him.  It  seems  safe  to  prophesy  that  the 
members  of  the  industrial  unions  will,  in  the  not  distant 
future,  be  found  entering  the  political  arena  as  a  unit  for 
certain  fundamental  demands.  The  industrial  unionists  will 
soon  learn  to  disregard  obsolete  and  illusory  party  lines.  Our 
great  industrial  cities  seem  destined  to  stand  in  the  forefront 
of  the  movement  toward  some  form  of  industrial  democracy. 
Trade  autonomy  and  industrial  autonomy  are  essentially 
antagonistic;  but  industrial  unionism  and  trade  unionism  are 
not  necessarily  antagonistic  to  each  other.  Industrial  and  trade 
unions  might  exist  side  by  side,  and  for  complete  and  effect- 
ive organization  both  seem  to  be  necessary.  The  United  Mine 
Workers,  for  example,  should  control  all  mine  workers;  but  the 
stationary  engineers  ought  also  to  belong  to  a  trade  union  of 
engineers.  At  least  two  reasons  may  be  presented  to  support 
this  contention,  (i)  An  engineer  belonging  to  a  trade  union 
may  readily  pass  from  the  mining  industry  to  some  other.  He 
is  still  a  member  of  his  trade  union,  but  he  will  transfer  from 
one  industrial  union  to  another,  as  changes  in  the  labor  market 
may  indicate.  If  he  is  only  an  industrial  unionist,  he  cannot 
readily  seek  employment  outside  the  mining  industry.  (2)  In 
the  event  of  a  strike  in  the  mining  industry  union  engineers 
will  not  take  the  place  of  those  on  a  strike  if  all  engineers 
belong  to  the  same  trade  union.  The  case  of  the  brewery 
workers  and  the  teamsters  is  a  parallel  one.  Considering  the 
increasing  intricacy  and  solidification  in  the  field  of  organized 


RECENT    TENDENCIES  471 

capital,  the  conclusion  is  that  the  industrial  unions  organized 
in  the  large  industries,  such  as  mining,  will  be  forced  to  "act 
closely  with  the  unions  of  many  trades,  and  that  the  unions 
of  all  trades  must  cooperate  with  those  of  many  indus- 
tries."1 The  building  trades  councils  in  various  cities 
preserve  trade  organizations,  but  affiliate  together  as  an 
industrial  group. 

Political  Activity.  The  experiences  of  the  labor  organiza- 
tions of  last  century  that  went  into  politics  were  disastrous. 
The  labor  movement  of  the  twenties  was  wrecked  by  the 
workingmen's  parties  of  1828  to  1831.  The  labor  parties  of 
the  early  seventies  were  not  notably  successful.  The  Knights 
of  Labor  suffered  because  of  dabbling  in  politics.  Labor 
organizations  have  found  their  chief  work  to  be  in  securing 
immediate  benefits  from  their  employer  in  the  shape  of  higher 
wages  and  better  working  conditions.  For  a  labor  organiza- 
tion to  enter  the  political  field  signifies  that  it  must  turn  aside 
from  the  work  in  which  its  successes  have  been  scored  and 
enter  a  new  field.  Political  action  brings  in  slower  returns  and 
benefits  which  are  more  widely  distributed. 

If  labor  is  to  become  an  important  political  force  in  America 
as  it  has  in  England  and  Australia,  what  are  the  incident  forces 
which  will  be  chiefly  responsible  for  wrenching  labor  organiza- 
tions out  of  the  grooves  of  business  unionism  into  the  broader 
track  of  political  action?  The  entrance  of  labor  organizations 
into  the  political  field  signifies  that  the  feeling  of  solidarity 
of  interests  between  different  classes  of  unionists  is  growing, 
and  that  the  old  business  policies  involving  wage  bargaining, 
local  strikes,  and  boycotts  are  losing  their  potency.  An 
increase  in  solidarity  may  be  the  result  of  the  increased  prom- 
inence of  the  machine  and  of  the  subdivision  of  labor  which 
knits  the  interests  of  the  skilled  and  unskilled  closer  together; 
or  it  may  be  due  to  the  rising  tide  of  opposition  to  labor 

1  Walling,  "The  New  Unionism,"  Annals.    Vol.  24  :  314. 


472     HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

organizations  growing  directly  out  of  the  efforts  of  employers' 
associations.  The  effectiveness  of  the  old  line  of  business 
policies  has  also  been  impaired  by  the  knitting  together  of 
capital  into  trusts  and  associations  which  present  a  united 
front  to  labor,  and  by  recent  court  decisions  which  have  in  a 
measure  reduced  the  value  of  the  strike  and  of  the  boycott  as 
weapons  in  the  hands  of  organized  labor.  Every  hard  blow 
delivered  against  unionism  by  organized  capital  helps  to  turn 
eyes  of  workingmen  toward  the  political  field. 

The  wage  earners  are  not  represented  in  Congress  or  in  the 
state  legislatures  in  proportion  to  their  numerical  strength, 
and  many  of  their  "friends"  among  the  old  party  representa- 
tives do  not  always  vote  for  the  measures  demanded  by  organ- 
ized labor.  In  recent  years  the  "labor  lobby"  has  scored 
many  failures,  and  leaders  of  the  anti-union  employers' 
associations  have  openly  boasted  of  their  political  influence. 
In  many  industrial  centers  the  workingmen  cast  a  large  frac- 
tion of  the  total  vote.  A  labor  party  which  actually  obtained 
a  large  percentage  of  the  labor  vote  could  place  its  candidates 
in  the  legislature  of  every  important  industrial  state  of  the 
union  and  could  also  elect  a  few  members  of  the  House  of 
Representatives.  A  comparatively  small  number  of  ardent 
labor  men  in  legislative  halls  could  do  much  to  further  the 
interests  of  labor.  The  latent  political  power  of  labor  is  con- 
siderable. A  labor  party,  socialistic  or  otherwise,  is  certain 
to  appear  soon  after  the  average  union  man  is  thoroughly 
convinced  that  the  old  line  business  unionism  has  met 
obstacles  which  it  cannot  surmount.  When  the  laboring 
men  are  convinced  that  immediate  results  cannot  be  obtained 
through  trade-union  action,  they  will  adopt  new  policies  and 
emphasize  new  ideals;  but  as  long  as  their  union  can  raise 
their  wages  and  improve  working  conditions,  they  will  be 
content  to  vote  the  old  party  ticket. 

While  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  has  for  years 


RECENT  TENDENCIES  473 

advised  their  members,  in  a  perfunctory  manner,  to  vote  for 
their  friends  regardless  of  party  lines,  until  1906,  beyond  main- 
taining a  lobby  at  Washington  and  at  certain  state  capitals, 
it  took  little  part  in  political  activities.  In  that  year  the 
executive  council  issued  a  campaign  program  for  the  purpose 
of  removing  "all  forms  of  political  servitude  and  party  sla- 
very." The  executive  council  demanded  the  defeat  of  all 
candidates  who  were  hostile  or  indifferent  to  the  interests  of 
labor.  In  case  both  parties  nominated  such  men,  it  was  urged 
that  a  third  candidate  be  placed  in  the  field.  In  the 
presidential  campaign  of  1908  President  Gompers  actively 
endeavored  to  induce  the  workingmen  to  support  the  demo- 
cratic ticket,  and  he  estimated  that  about  eighty  per  cent,  of 
votes  of  organized  labor  were  cast  as  recommended  by  the 
Federation.  The  conservative  leaders  of  the  American  Fed- 
eration of  Labor  are  apparently  convinced  that  state  aid  is 
necessary,  or  at  least  extremely  desirable,  to  support  purely 
trade-union  activity. 

A  strong  and  fairly  permanent  labor  party  cannot  come 
into  existence  until  the  workers  in  the  various  trades  and 
industries  have  faced  sufficient  opposition  to  force  them  to 
recognize  the  significance  of  the  phrase  "the  solidarity  of 
labor,"  or  until  the  necessity  of  "united  working-class  action" 
is  clearly  demonstrated  by  the  failure  of  the  traditional 
union  methods.  As  long  as  free  land  existed,  as  long  as  the 
most  capable  and  ambitious  employees  hoped  to  become  em- 
ployers or  high-salaried  officials,  or  as  long  as  the  old  line 
business  unionism  continues  to  be  fairly  successful,  organized 
labor  may  not  be  expected  to  enter  the  political  arena  as  a 
unified  body.  Mr.  Gompers'  attempt  in  1908  to  swing  the 
labor  vote  to  Mr.  Bryan  was  apparently  a  failure;  but 
the  bitter  opposition  of  large  employers'  associations  and  the 
antagonistic  court  decisions  are  forcing  the  unionists  to  further 
consider  the  advisability  of  political  action.  The  traditional 


474    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

distrust  of  political  action  and  the  ingrained  prejudices  and 
feelings  of  the  typical  unionist  will  finally  yield  under  the 
pressure  of  the  opponents  of  organized  labor. 

The  policy  of  the  National  Civic  Federation  is  to  encourage 
and  continue  the  old  line  business  unionism  and  to  dis- 
courage political  activity  on  the  part  of  organized  labor. 
Consciously  or  unconsciously  this  organization  is  trying  to  stem 
the  tide  which  is  setting  in  toward  the  new  unionism  which 
minimizes  trade  demarcations,  which  looks  toward  political 
activity,  and  which  manifests  marked  socialistic  proclivities. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  policy  of  the  employers'  associations 
which  are  openly  hostile  to  labor  are  driving  labor  to  adopt 
more  and  more  radical  methods  of  procedure.  The  reaction- 
ary employers'  associations  are  destroying  trade  unionism  of 
the  bargaining  type  and  are  building  up  a  solid  group  of  class- 
conscious  industrial  unionists  who  believe  in  the  general 
strike,  who  refuse  to  make  wage  contracts,  who  are  not 
interested  in  the  closed  shop,  who  believe  in  political  activ- 
ity, and  who  are  ready  to  adopt  many  of  the  policies  of  the 
socialist. 

If  it  is  desirable  that  a  class-conscious  and  united  army  of 
wage  earners  be  developed,  then  the  bitterest  opponents  of 
organized  labor  are  its  friends  in  disguise.  Some  of  the  evi- 
dences of  class  consciousness  are  the  sympathetic  strike  and 
the  wide-spread  boycott,  the  financial  assistance  frequently 
given  by  unions  of  other  trades  to  strikers,  the  assistance, 
financial  and  otherwise,  given  Moyer,  Haywood,  and  Petti- 
bone,  the  general  acceptance  by  the  workingmen  of  the  opin- 
ion that  a  wage  earner  must  ever  remain  a  wage  earner,  and 
the  increasing  bitterness  in  the  tone  of  the  labor  press.  The 
Moyer,  Haywood,  and  Pettibone  trial,  the  contempt  of  court 
proceedings  against  Gompers,  Mitchell,  and  Morrison,  the 
invectives  of  the  leaders  of  the  Citizens'  Industrial  Associa- 
tion, and  the  recent  attempts  of  certain  large  corporations  to 


RECENT  TENDENCIES  475 

introduce  or  to  maintain  the  open  shop,  have  done  much  to 
draw  the  ranks  of  organized  labor  together.  Greater  political 
activity  on  the  part  of  organized  labor  may  be  anticipated  in 
the  near  future.  Will  that  activity  lead  to  the  formation  of 
a  new  labor  party  or  will  it  lead  to  an  enlargement  of  the 
existing  socialist  party? 

Socialistic  Tendencies.  The  growth  of  class  consciousness 
and  the  resort  to  political  action  are  indicative  of  socialistic 
proclivities  on  the  part  of  members  of  labor  organizations. 
For  years  socialists  have  constituted  an  important  and 
energetic  minority  in  many  unions.  Socialist  delegates  have 
repeatedly  tried,  but  without  success,  to  commit  the  American 
Federation  to  the  policy  of  collective  ownership  of  the  means 
of  production.  In  the  1900  meeting,  a  resolution  was  intro- 
duced recommending  that  unionists  carefully  study  the 
growth  of  trusts  and  monopolies  "with  a  view  to  nationaliz- 
ing the  same."  This  resolution  was  adopted,  but  not  until 
the  clause  committing  the  Federation  to  collective  ownership 
was  eliminated.  Various  resolutions  have,  however,  been 
passed  by  state  federations  of  labor,  by  city  central  labor 
unions,  and  by  nearly  a  score  of  national  and  international 
unions,  endorsing  collective  ownership  and  operation  of  the 
means  of  production.  For  example,  the  United  Mine  Work- 
ers, "in  the  light  of  the  industrial  depression  that  has  haunted 
America  for  more  than  a  year,"  declared  in  its  annual  con- 
vention in  favor  of  collective  ownership  and  operation  of  the 
means  of  production  and  exchange,  so  "that  every  man  or 
woman  willing  and  able  to  work  can  have  free  access  to  the 
means  of  life  and  get  the  full  social  value  of  what  they  pro- 
duce." The  organized  brewery  workers  are  quite  definitely 
committed  to  the  principles  of  socialism.  "The  officers  of 
the  organization  never  fail  to  impress  the  members  with  the 
fact  that  it  was  their  duty  to  join  the  Socialist  movement,  to 
vote  the  Socialist  ticket,  and  to  learn  to  understand  Social- 


476    HISTORY  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

-N^ 

ism."  l    In  1902  the  Western  Federation  of  Miners  officially 
acknowledged  its  sympathy  with  the  Socialist  party. 

Many  of  the  prominent  labor  papers  are  also  socialist 
papers.  The  Social-Democratic  Herald,  a  socialist  weekly  pub- 
lished in  Milwaukee,  is  the  official  paper  of  the  Federated 
Trades  Council  of  Milwaukee,  and  of  the  Wisconsin  State 
Federation  of  Labor.  Mr.  Kennedy  cites  fourteen  union  papers 
which  openly  advocate  socialism.  The  votes  of  members  of 
labor  organizations  were  in  no  small  measure  responsible  for 
the  election,  in  Milwaukee,  of  the  Socialist  party  candidates 
in  the  municipal,  county,  and  state  elections  of  1910. 

The  phrases  of  the  socialists  are  frequently  upon  the  lips 
of  the  union  man.  A  resolution  of  the  United  Mine  Workers 
speaks  of  the  "predatory  rich"  who  "are  co-existent  with 
the  countless  thousands"  in  poverty.  The  International 
Union  of  United  Brewery  Workmen  in  their  declaration  of 
principles  use  these  words:  "The  few  hundred  owners  take 
for  themselves  the  larger  part  of  the  wealth  produced  by 
the  workingmen."  The  Iron  Molders  assert  in  the  preamble 
of  their  constitution  that  "under  the  present  social  system 
there  is  a  general  tendency  to  deny  the  producer  the  full 
reward  of  his  industry  and  skill."  The  Industrial  Workers  of 
the  World  in  the  first  sentence  of  the  preamble  of  their 
constitution  declare:  "The  working  class  and  the  employing 
class  have  nothing  in  common."  Evidence  warrants  the 
conclusion  that  unionism  and  socialism  are  drawing  closer 
together.  The  unionist  and  the  socialist  are  both  convinced 
that  the  capitalist  is  an  exploiter,  and  that  the  wage  earner 
does  not  receive  his  proper  share  of  the  result  of  his  toil.  The 
socialist  is  more  radical  than  the  unionist;  but  the  latter  is 
following  in  the  footsteps  of  the  former.2 

1  Schliiter,  The  Brewing  Industry  and  the  Brewery  Workers1  Movement  in 
America,  p.  248. 

2  Kennedy,   "Socialistic  Tendencies  in  American  Trade-Unions,"  Journal 
oj  Political  Economy.     Vol.  15  :  470-488. 


RECENT  TENDENCIES  477 

REFERENCES  FOR  FURTHER  READING 

Hoxie,  "President  Gompers  and  the  Labor  Vote,"  Journal  of  Political 
Economy.  Vol.  16  :  693-700. 

Kennedy,  "Socialistic  Tendencies  in  American  Trade-Unions,"  Jour- 
nal of  Political  Economy.  Vol.  15  :  470-488. 

Walling,  "The  New  Unionism,"  Annals  of  the  American  Academy  of 
Political  and  Social  Science.  Vol.  24  :  296-315. 


INDEX 


Accidents,  industrial,  301,  302 

Adams,  T.  S.,  in 

Agreements,  trade,  232,  243,  249 
in  the  coal  mining  industry,  245 
in  the  N.  Y.  building  trades,  245 
in  the  stove  industry,  246 

American  Association  for  Labor  Legis- 
lation, 319 

American  Federation  of  Labor,  74 

Anthracite  coal  strike,  185 

Anthracite  Coal  Strike  Commission, 

237 
Apprentices,  limitation  of,  142,  148 

training  of,  446 

Apprenticeship,  early  regulations  con- 
cerning, 274 
Apprenticeship,  length  of,  145 

systems  of,  448 
Arbitration,  advantages  and  defects 

of,  242 

definitions  of,  232 
in  Australasia,  compulsory,  260 
in  New  Zealand  and  Australia, 

253 

in  the  U.  S.,  233 
Arthur,  P.  M.,  104,  109 
Australia,  arbitration  in,  253,  260 

old  age  pensions  in,  313 

Barbers'  International  Union,  107 
Bargaining,  collective,  116 
Benefit    features   of   labor   organiza- 
tions, 151 

probable  growth  of,  154 

value  of,  153 
Blacklist,  180 

legality  of,  181 
Boycott,  167 

attitude  of  courts  toward,  169 

legal  status  of,  173,  178 

the  trade,  176 

Brewery  Workers,  United,  107 
Buck    Stove   and    Range    Company 

case,  174,  177 


Building  and  loan  associations,  219 
Building  trades,  105 
Business  Men's  Association  of  Battle 
Creek,  90 

Canadian  industrial  disputes  act,  250 

importance  of,  253 
Chinese  coolies,  354 
Chinese  exclusion  act,  355 
Child    Labor    Committee,    National, 

398 
Child  labor,  effects  of,  386,  398 

early  history  of,  380 

national  regulation  of,  395 

statistics  of,  385 

Child   labor   legislation   in   England, 
275,  387 

in  the  U.  S.  277,  389 

opposition  to,  403 

recommended,  394 
Children's  Bureau  bill,  397 
Cigar  Makers'  International  Union,  102 

benefit  features   <f,  152 
Cities,  growth  of,  28,  336 
Citizens'  Industrial  Association,  89 

policy  of,  240 

City  central  labor  unions,  78 
Civic  Federation,  The  National,  239 

policy  of,  241,  474 

Class  consciousness  before  the  Civil 
War,  38 

Civil  War  period,  63 
Cleveland  farm  colony,  427 
Collective  bargaining,  116 

effects,  118 
Closed  shop  policy,  122 

in  England,  125 

arguments  in  favor  of,  126 
Combination  acts,  276 
Commons,  John  R.,  31,  92 
Compensation     acts,     workingmen's, 
300,  307 

constitutional  ?  306 

in  Europe,  workingmen's,  303 


479 


480 


INDEX 


Conciliation,  advantages  and  defects 
of,  242 

definitions  of,  232 

in  the  U.  S.,  233 
Consolidation,  industrial,  54 
Consumers'  League,  National,  373 
Convict  labor;  see  Prison  Labor 
Cooperation,  210 

Cooperation  in  England,  consumers' 
211. 

in  U.  S.,  consumers',  213 

not  successful,  consumers',  215 
Cooperation,  credit,  218 

distributors',  217 

fundamental  principles,  216 

European  experiments  in,  211 

importance  of,  224 
Cooperation,  producers',  220 

weakness  of  producers',  222 
Corruption,  political,  345 
Court  decisions,  trend   of,  269,  272, 

283,  288 
Cripple  Creek  strike,  185 

Day,  eight-hour,  138,  140 

arguments  in  favor  of,  141 
Debt,  imprisonment  for,  45 
Democracy,   evolution   of    industrial 

and  political,  464 
Disputes  act,  the  Canadian  industrial, 

250 

importance  of  the  Canadian  in- 
dustrial, 253 
jurisdiction,  in 
Domestic  service,  421 

Educational  ideals,  conflict  in  regard 

to,  460 

Eight-hour  day,  138,  140,  141 
Employers'  associations,  85 

before  Civil  War,  35 

Civil  War  period,  63,  66 

doctrines  of,  294 

evils  of  the  system  of,  298 

liability,  292 

modifications  of  the  system,  297 
Emerson's  system,  199 
Employment,  the  right  to,  444 

bureaus,  375,  441,  442 
England,  child  labor  legislation,  387 

old  age  pensions,  312 

Factories,  cotton,  22,  26 

woolen,  23,  26 
Federation  of  Labor,  American,  74 


Federation,  The  National  Civic,  239 
the  policy  of  The  National  Civic, 

241,  474 

Godwin,  Parke,  44 

Gompers,  Samuel,  109 

Government,  evolution  of  political,  98 

trade-union,  98 
Great  Lakes  dispute,  186 
Greeley,  Horace,  44 

Halsey's  plan  of  wage  payment,  199 
Hatters'  case,  Danbury,  151 
Hawaii,  labor  conditions  in,  355 
Hours  of  labor,  137 
Humanitarianism,  42 

Immigration,    advantages    and    dis- 
advantages of,  357 
attitude    toward,    during    Civil 

War,  332 
causes  of,  324 

changes  in  character  of,  327 
Immigration,   dangers    of     Oriental, 

354 

economic  effect  of,  333 
effect  of  changes  in  the  character 

of,  329 
effect     upon     the    standard    of 

living,  341 
history  of,  322 
legislation,  352 
opposition  to,  355 

before  the  Civil  War,  329 
policy  of  the  socialists,  351 
political  effect  of,  345 
restriction  of,  344 
statistics  of,  323 
stimulation  of,  326 
Immigrant,   Americanization  of   the, 

348 

economic  value  of,  340 
needed  ?  333 
Immigrants  collect  in  cities,  336 

distribution  of,  337 
Imprisonment  for  debt,  45 
Incorporation  of  labor  organizations, 

J5o 
Individualism,     eighteenth     century, 

264,  272 

Industrial  progress,  recent,  68 
union,  definition,  96 
unionism,  470 
Workers  of  the  World,  82 


INDEX 


481 


Injunction,  176,  177 

importance  of,  179 
Insurance  against  sickness,  310,  313 
Iron  manufacture,  24 

Japan,  immigration  from,  356 
Jurisdictional  disputes,  in 

Knights  of  Labor,  71 
St.  Crispin,  64 

Label,  union,  95,  182 

importance  of  union,  183 
Labor  Legislation,  American  Associa- 
tion for,  319 

Labor  Legislation  and  the  constitu- 
tion, 263,  277,  281 
and  the  police  power,  271,  281, 

285 

chief  forms  of,  278,  281,  291 
efficiency  of,  279 
history  of,  274 

present  status  of,  279,  288,  290 
Labor  organizations,  classification  of, 

95 

government  and  structure  of,  97 

incorporation  of,  150 

leadership  in,  109 

political  activities  of,  7,  471 
Labor  union,  definition  of,  95 
Laissez   faire   philosophy,    228,    265, 
266,  275,  276 

inadequacy  of  the,  229 
Land  monopoly,  40 
Land  reform,  48 
Leaders,  labor,  109 
Legislation,  labor;  see  Labor  Legisla- 
tion 

in  regard  to  sweat-shops,  366 
Liability,  employers',  292 

doctrine  of,  294 

evils  of  the  system,  298 

modification  of  the  system,  297 
Liberty,  views  of,  267 
Linotype,  introduction  of,  114 
Lockouts;  see  Strikes 
Locomotive   Engineers,   Brotherhood 

of,  104 
Lump-of-work  argument,  132 

Machinery,  attitude  toward,  113 
Manufacture,  stages  of,  25 
Manufacturers,  National  Association 
of,  88 


Massachusetts,  old  age  annuity  sys- 
tem of,  316 

McKees  Rocks  strike,  163,  187 
Membership    of    unions,    admission 

to,  no 

Mine  Workers,  United,  103,  475 
Miners,  Western  Federation  of,  108 
Minimum  wage  protects  skilled  men, 

199 
objections  to,  120 

National    Association    of    Manufac- 
turers, 88 

National  Child  Labor  Committee,  398 
Trades  and  Workers'  Association, 

90 

Labor  Union,  59 
Trades'  Union,  36 
Women's  Trade  Union  League, 

84 
Nations  of  Antwerp,  223 

Opposition    to   labor    organizations, 

90,  91,  241,  471 
Output,  restriction  of,  128 

Party,  labor,  473 

labor  reform,  61 

policy  of  the  socialist,  241 

workingmen's,  32 
Pauperism,  44 

Pension  system  of  the  International 
Harvester  Company,  316 

of  Typographical  Union,  318 
Pensions,  old  age,  310,  313 

in  Massachusetts,  316 
Picketing,  172 
Piece  wage,  196 
Pittsburgh  Survey,  411,  414 
Policies  of  trade  unions,  97 
Political  activities  of  labor  organiza- 
tions, 471 

Premium  plan  of  wage  payments,  197 
Press,  early  labor,  38 
Prices,  1834-1837,  33,  34 

1860-1866,  55,  56 
Prison  labor,  peculiarities  of,  428 

systems  of,  424 
Product  sharing,  202 
Profit  sharing,  201 

advantages  of,  204 

importance  of,  208 

methods  of,  203 

objections  to,  205 
Progressive  wage,  197 


482  INDEX 

Promotion  as  a  sedative,  92 
Prosperity  during  the  Civil  War,  52 

Race  prejudice,  343 
Restriction  of  output,  128 

lump-of-work  argument,  132 

health  argument,  135 

protection-of-industry  argument, 

136 

Revolutions,  industrial,  2 

Revolutions,  second  American  indus- 
trial, 51 

Rowan's  plan  of  wage  payment,  200 

School,  paying  children  to  go  to,  405 
Schools,  correspondence,  459 

demand  for  free,  46 

manual  training,  458 

night,  459 

trade,  453 

for  girls,  457 

Servants,  indentured,  12,  17,  18 
Shoemakers,  organized,  65 
Shop  policy,  the  closed,  122,  126 
Sickness,  insurance  against,  310,  313 
Silvis,  W.  H.,  62,  64 
Slavery  in  the  U.  S.,  19 
Sliding  scale,  201 
Socialist  party,  policy  of,  241 

in  regard  to  immigrants,  351 
Socialistic  tendencies  in  labor  organ- 
izations, 475 

State  federations  of  labor,  78 
Steward's  theory  of  wages,  62 
Strike,  anthracite  coal,  185 

Cripple  Creek,  185 

garment  workers',  188 

Great  Lakes,  186 

Ludlow,  188 

McKees  Rocks,  187 

shirt-waist,  187 
Strike  breakers,  91 

hatred  of,  163 

violence,  161 
Strikes,  attitude  of  courts  toward,   16 

causes  of,  159 

commercialized,  167 

early,  157 

losses  due  to,  164 

new  aspects  of,  165 

statistics  of,  158 

tendencies  in  regard  to,  160 

typical,  184 

Supreme   Court  decisions,    178,    283, 
288,  289 


Sweated    industries,    remedial    meas- 
ures, 368 

wages  in,  364 
Sweating  in  the  clothing  industry,  362 

factories,  376 

Sweat-shop  legislation,  366 
Sweat-shops,  classes  of,  360 

insanitary  conditions  in,  365 

Taff  Vale  decision,  150 

Task  wage,  196 

Taylor,  F.  W.,  198 

Teachers'  Federation,  85 

Time  wage,  194 

Trade  agreements;  see  Agreements 

Trade  schools,  453,  457 

Trade  union,  definition  of,  95 

Typographical   Union,   International, 

70,  100,  114 
pension  system  of,  318 

Unemployment,  causes  of,  432 

definition  of,  431 

effect  of  use  of  machinery  upon, 
432 

remedial  measures,  439 

statistics  of,  436 
Unfair  list,  168 

legality  of,  174 
Union  label,  182 
Unionism,  industrial  and  trade,  470 

modern,  4 

significance  of  industrial,  464 
Unions,  early  American,  16 

Civil  War,  57,  64 

pre-Civil  War,  30,  34,  36 
why  weak?  41 

View-points  of  employer  and  employee, 

7 
Violence,  strike,  161 

Wage,  a  fair,  190 

boards  in  Australia,  259,  370 

boards  in  England,  369 

payments,  systems  of,  194 

piece,  196 

progressive,  197 

task,  196 

time,  194 
Wages,  1860-1866,  55 

in  colonial  America,  14 

in  sweated  industries,  364 

of  women,  409,  415 

limitation  of,  5 


INDEX  483 

Wages,  real,  6  reasons  for  low  wages  paid  to, 

affected  by  political  action,  7  415 

Welfare  work,  209  Women's  trade  unions,  84 

White  list,  181  Workers  of  the  World,  The  Industrial, 

Woman  labor  before  the  Civil  War,  82,  476 

408  Workers,  laws  protecting  female,  282 

problems  connected  with,  419  male,  286 

Women,  education  of,  420  Workingmen's     compensation     acts, 

in  domestic  service,  421  300,  307 

workers  are  not  easily  organized,  in  Europe,  303 

417  Workingmen's  compensation  system, 

Women  workers,  effect  of  low  wages  advantages  of,  304 

paid  to,  413  constitutional  ?  306 
laws  protecting,  282 


A     000  681  219 


